


We're Still Just a Family

by samwise_baggins, Steve-Bucky-Stucky (Chemical30)



Series: Still Into You [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Political Animals
Genre: Disney World, F/M, Homophobic Behavior in Modern Setting, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Inadvertent Child Neglect, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Seizures, Universal Studios Theme Park
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-12-20 03:09:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 40,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11911968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samwise_baggins/pseuds/samwise_baggins, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chemical30/pseuds/Steve-Bucky-Stucky
Summary: Bucky and Steve take Ava and Kevin to Disney World for a family Christmas holiday. Clint, Natasha, and Daniel tag along. But Bucky's cousins, the Hammonds, throw a monkey wrench in the plans.





	1. Plans Change

**Author's Note:**

> This story is mostly fluff and concerns parents dealing with children during a theme park vacation over a holiday. It also deals with people getting stuck with an unexpected responsibility that may or may not ruin their plans. HOWEVER, the last chapter deals with **child abuse** and **alleged child sexual abuse** , so be forewarned. This story is mostly fluffy until the last chapter which is not even fuzzy. If you do not want to deal with those triggers, do not read this fic. We will warn you when the last chapter is posted with a reminder of the triggers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **WARNINGS: Inadvertent Child Neglect, Homophobic Behavior**

Bucky looked around his and Steve’s bedroom, which was a complete disaster due to being in the middle of packing for their upcoming Christmas vacation with the Romanov-Barton’s to Walt Disney World and Universal Studios in Florida. Running his flesh hand through his long hair, still trying to get used to the new, state-of-the-art prosthetic limb courtesy of Tony Stark, Bucky huffed out a breath, “we’re gonna forget something . . . I just know it,” he said to his husband.

Steve looked torn between amusement and wanting to grab the cleaning supplies and get to work. He nodded, checking off his list. “Most common things to forget on family vacations are keys, phone, wallet, toiletries, and kids.”

“Well, I doubt Kevin and Ava are gonna let us forget them,” Bucky said, giving Steve a smile, “they’ve been lookin’ forward to this for months.”

Smiling softly at his husband of two years, Steve wrapped an arm around Bucky’s waist and tugged him close for a kiss. “So have I.”

Just as Steve pulled Bucky into a kiss, the brunet’s phone began to buzz in his pocket. Rolling his eyes, Bucky said, “probably just Clint with the hourly countdown until we leave.”

“So, answer it and tell him three hours, get the jump on him,” Steve teased. “He’ll wonder what happened to the other two hours.”

Laughing, Bucky nodded and answered, without really looking, “yeah, I know, Clint, _three hours_.”

“Three hours?” A woman’s voice asked, sounding a bit confused. “James?”

Eyes widening a bit, Bucky pulled his phone away from his face to look at who was calling. Putting the device back to his ear, Bucky said, “cousin Elaine? What . . . uh . . . how are you?” He’d just gotten back in touch with his cousin Elaine and her husband Bud Hammond, both political powers in DC, whom Bucky had only met a handful of times. However, after the accident, Bucky had made a point to try to reconnect with any living family members.

“I’m doing as well as can be expected James. Bud and I agreed to work on our marriage. But, for him that means going away for a second honeymoon, which he sprang on me fully paid for and planned. I need a sitter for the twins for Christmas. I know, I know, over the holiday, but Bud was adamant and this resort doesn’t take children. We’ll celebrate the holiday with them after New Year’s.”

“You want us to watch TJ and Doug?” Bucky’s eyes widened even more and he looked at Steve, “over the holidays? Like . . . now?”

“I know, it’s such short notice, but they’re very good boys. TJ can be adventurous, a bit of a handful, but he’ll obey. And Bud is prepared to offer money for expenses. You just let him know what you need.”

“Uh . . . we’re actually going to be leaving on vacation in five hours . . .” Bucky chewed his bottom lip and looked at Steve.

“We’re pulling up to your door now, James,” she said and a car horn honked loudly with a _Dixie_ tune.

Blinking in surprise, Bucky said, “oh . . . you are, aren’t you? Okay, we’ll . . . uh . . . be right down?” The brunet disconnected the call and looked at Steve.

Steve stood, frowning in confusion from the bits he’d heard of the conversation. “TJ and Doug?”

“You know . . . my cousin Elaine, and her husband, Bud’s twins? They’re eight, I think . . .” Bucky shook his head, heading for the door, “she wants us to watch them for the holidays. Her and Bud are going on a second honeymoon to try and repair their marriage.”

“By handing their kids to practical strangers for _Christmas_?” Steve sounded horrified.

“They’re politicians?” Bucky offered as if that were explanation enough. “The twins are probably gonna be upset . . . I’ve only met them once, when they were babies.” He made his way down the steps and into the living room, which was also a mess due to the family packing up.

“And they’re okay with us taking their kids out of state?” Steve asked, looking surprised and confused. He headed out of the bedroom to go answer the door.

Bucky had beaten Steve to the door, punching in the security code and opening the door to look at the approaching Hammond family.

Doug, with close cropped brown hair and wide blue eyes, held his twin brother’s hand and looked around in awe. Elaine was getting leaning into the car and trying to find TJ’s lost shoe.

TJ seemed to be buzzing with energy as he held his twin’s hand, his wild brown curls piled on top of his head, like Elaine had tried to tame them but been unable. The little boy’s wide, pale blue eyes looked around and then saw Bucky standing in the door. “Who’s that, Momma?” TJ asked.

Smiling, Elaine looked over, producing the lost shoe, “That’s your cousin. You met when you were really little, your first Easter. That’s James and his husband, Steve.”

“You can marry a _boy_?” TJ asked, shock in his tones as he looked between the two men in the doorway and his mother, letting her put on his other shoe as he continued to look between the adults.

Elaine looked down at her precocious son and laughed. “Yes, you can.”

“Even if _I’m_ a boy?” TJ pressed, bouncing on one foot to another.

She nodded, “yes. Your Daddy got them to make that rule.”

“Cool!” TJ let go of Doug’s hand and ran up to where Bucky and Steve were.

“I’m gonna marry Momma,” Doug said softly but followed where his twin lead.

“Hi! I’m TJ!” The energetic boy smiled up at Bucky and Steve.

Steve smiled down at the boys and said, “I’m Cousin Steve. This is Cousin Bucky, but your Momma calls him James.”

“Kinda like how when I’m in trouble, Momma calls me Thomas but anytime else it’s Tommy or TJ?” TJ asked looking at Bucky.

Nodding, Steve said, “yeah, I remember my Mama calling me Steven when I got in trouble.”

Bucky looked down at TJ, surprised at how much the boy looked like him when he was that age. Bucky shook himself and offered TJ and Doug a smile, “I bet you guys are thirsty, huh? Travel always makes me real thirsty. I think we have some juice.” He stepped back to allow the family in, noting the absence of Bud Hammond, who stayed in the car.

“Look, Dougie! He’s got a robot arm!” TJ pointed out excitedly as he pulled his twin into the unfamiliar home, “that’s so cool, huh?”

Doug nodded and grinned. “I want one!” Doug stepped over to Bucky. “Does it hurt Cousin Bucky?”

Offering Doug a smile, Bucky answered honestly, “sometimes. It’s still pretty new. I got in a really bad accident two years ago and I lost my real arm. My friend, Tony Stark, made me this new one,” the brunet lifted the hand for the two boys to inspect, the silver catching in the morning light that came in from the windows.

Doug reached out and touched the hand, then grinned widely and looked up at his tall older cousin. “It’s neat! It even makes a noise, Teej!”

“Woah,” TJ leaned in closer, grinning widely as Bucky moved his fingers so all the plates in the arm shifted and recalibrated.

“Hello,” A soft, friendly voice came from the back door. A blond boy, looking about five and dressed in tan coveralls and a yellow shirt, smiled at the two new boys. “I’m Kevin,” he practically whispered with a soft smile.

“I’m TJ and this is my twin brother Dougie,” TJ introduced, beaming toothily at the little boy.

Nodding, Kevin looked outside in the yard. “Ava! There’s boys here. TJ and Dougie.”

“Who?” A feminine voice came from outside until thirteen year old Ava walked inside and she blinked in surprise at the unknown guests in the home. She looked at Steve and Bucky and then at the twins.

Elaine smiled but looked a bit harried. “Hello, dear,” she said to the children. “Here, James,” she offered an envelope. “We’ll put the suitcases on the porch. I’d stay but our flight leaves soon.”

“Uh . . . Elaine? Like I said, we’re leaving on vacation . . . to Florida?” Bucky looked in the envelope and his eyes widened at the amount of money he’d been given.

She nodded and opened her purse, looking through it. Smiling in relief, Elaine pulled out two sets of documents, “birth certificates and passports, though you probably won’t need them. Here. And there’s money in the envelope. Call if you need us to wire more. The boys will adore Florida!”

Taking the documents, Bucky handed the envelope to Steve so his husband could see the large amount of cash.

Steve blinked, mentally beginning to count the cash, storing the information away so they could make it spread out over the entire vacation for the twins, already knowing that Bucky would take his cousin’s kids. How could he not? She’d practically left once more.

“Wait!” TJ called after his mother, running out of the house with panic in his eyes.

Elaine waved, “thank you so much, James! We’ll be back the second week of January. Just buy them whatever is on their Santa letters for Christmas. Call if you need more!” And she rolled her window shut as her husband waved out his own window with one hand and drove off.

TJ stood at the opened house door, eyes wide, “they took Luna!” He looked back at Steve and Bucky, “Luna’s still in the backseat!”

The car pulled back up to the house and Elaine got out, looking harried. “TJ! Your wolf!”

Rushing down the steps, almost tripping in his haste, TJ ran up to the car and grabbed a well-loved looking stuffed black wolf.

Elaine kissed his head and climbed back in. “You both mind Cousin James or he’ll punish you!” she called and Bud waved once more as he drove off.

Turning back to the house, holding the stuffed animal close to his chest, TJ made his way back into the home, shutting the door behind him.

Doug blinked and looked up at Bucky and Steve, frowning. “Here we go again.”

Bucky looked shocked; his eyes moved to look at Doug and TJ,

Steve pulled out his phone and began altering their reservations and tickets and such, including plane tickets for the two boys.

“Has your Momma done this before?” Bucky asked, kneeling down to the boy’s level.

Nodding, Dougie said, “yup. Every summer we go to Nana, and every winter, almost. But this time she’s in a show and can’t watch us.”

“She’s gonna be on _Broadway_ ,” TJ reported with a large smile.

“She’s playing a witch, I think,” Dougie added.

“She sings pretty! She’s teachin’ me how to play the piano! Momma says I’m good!” TJ said and then moved around the house, still carrying the stuffed animal. He looked at Kevin and grinned, “hi! I like your house.”

Kevin smiled back. “Hello, TJ, again.” He seemed quite happy to have the others there. “It’s Papa’s house.”

“Not uh, you live here, so it’s your house, too,” TJ countered, bouncing from one foot to the other.

“Oh, okay,” Kevin accepted the correction readily enough, proving how amiable he was. That very trusting nature sometimes kept Steve up at night, worrying to his husband about their son’s safety.

Bucky slowly rose and looked at Steve with a frown, trying to figure out what would be needed with the two additions to the trip.

Taking the phone from his ear, Steve looked at Bucky, “got the airline tickets fixed and the resort, too. Gonna call to add the two sets of tickets for the boys to go in the parks.”

Nodding, Bucky ran his hand through his hair.

The doorbell rang, as if someone leaned on it a little too long.

Turning, TJ ran over to the door, the alarm not having been reset; the little boy opened the door with a grin, “hello!”

Clint stood at the door, hand raised, poised to slam the buzzer again. He blinked blue-grey eyes slow, frowned softly, and stepped back, checking the number above the door. Frowning, he looked at TJ then the number and said, “wrong house?”

Natasha came up behind Clint and her green eyes widened slightly at the unknown child answering Bucky and Steve’s door. “Did they decide to take on fosters again?” She asked Clint softly.

“They never said anything to me. Daniel?” the man asked his own adopted son, as if he expected the fourteen year old had more legitimate information than he did.

Bucky walked up behind TJ and gave his long-time friends a worried looking smile. “Hey . . . uh, this is TJ, my cousin? He and his brother, Doug, will be joining us?” Bucky put a hand on TJ’s shoulder to gently pull him back so Clint, Nat, and Daniel could come inside.

“Oh,” Clint grinned wide. “That's cool. A bunch of kids outnumbering the adults in a theme park.” He winked at his wife and turned to look over the twin. “Fraternal, right?” he didn’t ask the eight year olds precisely.

Daniel grinned at Ava. “Kevin’ll have friends his own age,” he gestured towards the seven year old who looked more like a five year old.

Steve hung up his phone and smiled, a bit harried, “got the park tickets settled, too. Is everything packed? We should be getting to the airport.”

“Where are we going?” TJ asked, tilting his head as he looked up at Steve.

“Disney World and Universal Studios,” Steve informed the child, smiling. He truly didn’t mind being surrounded by kids; he just worried about Bucky’s anxiety level. “Would you like to go? We’ll be there for Christmas.”

“Christmas with Mickey Mouse?” Doug asked, awed, eyes wide.

“Do we gotta look all nice for the cameras?” TJ questioned, scrunching his nose, “Momma is always messin’ with my hair.” The was a hint of something that might be uncertainty, discomfort in his pale eyes.

“On Christmas Day you can look nice for the family and friends pictures, but other than that, you can look like real kids, not posters.” Steve smiled widely. “Deal?”

“Okay,” TJ agreed readily, heading back over to Kevin. TJ showed his wolf to the other boy, “this is Luna, I don’t sleep very good without him.”

Nodding, Kevin said, “Ava lets me sleep with Chester. He’s a Cloud Leopard, but he’s packed in the suitcase so he doesn’t get lost on the plane.” He studied TJ and asked, smiling his sweet smile, “how old you you? I’m seven.”

“Dougie and I are eight. We have our birthdays on the same day, August thirteenth!” TJ answered happily.

“I have a birthday three ahead of Dad,” Kevin smiled wider. “July one and July four.”

“Bucky, got the meds?” Steve asked, beginning to load the car with suitcases, letting the Bartons take Ava and most of the luggage. They would be responsible for the three little boys.

Bucky walked into the kitchen and grabbed the plastic bag that held all the needed medicine for the family. He moved out to meet Steve by the cars, “hey, got the meds . . . sorry, about . . . all this?”

Steve kissed Bucky on the lips in passing, smiling. “Thanks, Bucky.” He started loading all the carry ons, including taking those from the Barton car, shuffling the check in luggage to the other vehicle. “Hey, put the meds in my carry on? I left room.” He grinned at Bucky, “sorry about what?”

Nodding, Bucky put the bag in Steve’s carry on. The brunet sighed softly and looked over his shoulder where he could see TJ and Doug talking with Kevin. Looking back at Steve, keeping his voice low, Bucky said, “the addition of two new kids?”

“I love kids, Bucky, and I think your cousins look like they need time to enjoy being kids.” Steve shut the trunk after the last bag they could squeeze in. “Besides, Bud Hammond takes office in late January. This may be the last time those kids can get to Disney without everyone recognizing them.” He stepped up to his husband. “It didn’t elude me that the pair want to work on their marriage right before Bud becomes the President, Buck.”

“From what Elaine has told me,” Bucky sighed softly, still keeping his voice low, “Bud’s having a hard time staying faithful.”

Steve frowned and sighed, looking back at the twins. “That’s bad news. I hope he gets help for that. It can rip apart his family.” He spoke about cheating as if therapy could fix it.

“Maybe,” Bucky nodded and leaned in closer to Steve, taking a steadying breath. “Just wish they would’ve given us more time.”

Steve wrapped his arms around Bucky for a quick hug, then kissed him again. “At least we’re not planning on driving down. _That_ would be insane with just two kids, let alone four.”

Agreeing with a nod, Bucky kissed Steve again, “thank you, Steve. You keep me sane.”

“And you ground me, too,” Steve laughed. “Okay, Ava, you’ve got your money?” He turned to the group of five kids milling about.

Ava, staying closer to Daniel than the younger kids, looked at her adoptive father and nodded, “yeah, in my wallet,” she gestured to her small purse that she had slung over her shoulder.

“Good girl,” Steve praised. “You’re riding with Daniel. We’ll meet and regroup at the airport. Ready, Natasha? Clint?” Steve opened the passenger door, watching as Kevin crawled into his booster seat.

“Yup,” Natasha nodded, slipping on her sunglasses, “c’mon kiddos,” she called to her adoptive son and his best friend.

TJ followed Kevin into the back of Steve and Bucky’s car, slipping into the middle between Doug and Kevin. He buckled up and set the stuffed wolf on his lap, “Cousin Steve? Do you think I should put Luna in my suitcase so he doesn’t get lost? I don’t want him to get lost.”

“Yes, TJ, that way he doesn’t get left on the plane like he nearly got left in your Momma’s car.” Steve smiled, got out of the car, and got Clint to open their trunk. He gently took the wolf from TJ and managed to get the animal into Bucky’s suitcase, since he didn’t think the boys had room in theirs. Once more, he slid inside the car. “He’s sleeping in Cousin Bucky’s case, TJ.”

“Okay,” TJ nodded, settling back against his seat, “thank you, Steve.”

Bucky waited until everyone was buckled before pulling away from the house. Clint honked the horn and followed them, leaving safety room but sticking to Bucky’s path. Once at the airport, it was as hectic as Bucky had feared it would be, trying to wrangle three little boys, though Kevin stuck pretty close. TJ, Bucky found out quickly, lived up to his mother’s warning and loved to wander, exploring new places without fear of getting lost.

It took Steve a half an hour before he hit upon the solution to TJ’s wandering. He noticed Doug always dragged his twin back to the fold if he got too far, so Steve said to them, “Boys, stay close or we might miss the plane and Disney World. I want you in chairs right next to one of our group at all times.” After that, Doug wouldn’t allow TJ to wander, holding his hand and forcing him to twist and turn to look but not go touch.

Bucky looked at Steve as they all found seats to wait for their plane. Running his fingers through his hair, giving his husband a nervous smile, Bucky said softly, “he’s gonna be a handful . . . but luckily it seems he listens to Doug no matter what.”

“And that will help, because that’s the way we’ll keep him in sight and safe,” Steve smiled, delighted with the small solution. “Bucky, I counted what they gave us. There’s enough to pay for their hotel, tickets, plane, food, everything, and still have plenty left for their presents _and_ the same things we planned for our group. Do you think your cousin Elaine would mind us using it to do the entire Jedi-Wizard-Prince thing for the twins?”

“I don’t think she would. I mean, she left them in our care and I bet TJ and Doug will love it. Like you said, this might be their last public outing where they aren’t flogged with cameras tracking their every move,” Bucky said with a shake of his head.

“Eight years old and the new twin sons of the President,” Steve sighed very softly, making sure to keep his voice intimate so others wouldn’t realize the sons of the soon-to-be country's leader were sitting right there in an airport without security details.

Ava, who sat on the other side of Steve, leaned in close and whispered, “why aren’t they spending Christmas with their own families? Seems . . . sad.”

“Their parents are having trouble, fights and stuff. They want to sort it out, like we do when we go to the clinic to stay for a while. But they don’t have the clinic to go to. So, like when we have to drop you guys off with Natasha and Clint while we figure things out, they dropped the twins with us. It’s a shame they chose the holiday to do it,” Steve shook his head.

“But . . . over _Christmas_?” Ava frowned, unable to imagine spending such an important holiday such as Christmas away from her family. Bucky and Steve always made sure to make the holidays very special for them.

“Well, since they had to do that, why don’t we make this holiday the bestest for the twins, okay? So they don’t get upset and lonely for their parents while they’re with us?” Steve smiled at the thirteen year old.

Nodding, Ava offered Steve a smile, “yeah, okay. I don’t want them to be sad. Daniel and I will be nice to them, I swear, Steve.”

“I know you will, sweetheart,” Steve said, touching his forehead to her’s. He smiled as he sat back then blinked as he saw a smiling woman watch them interacting.

The lady noticed she’d been caught staring and said, “four children, what a handful. And they are so well behaved, even the little one. I don’t know how you do it!”

Steve looked down at Kevin then the twins and to Ava. Grinning, he looked back at the lady and said, “my husband and I believe in love and respect.”

The smile dropped from the woman’s face and she blinked slowly. “Your . . .” she got up and walked to another set of chairs.

“And understanding and tolerance,” Steve sighed.

Bucky looked between the woman and his husband; frowning softly, Bucky commented, “don’t know how us being gay affects how well behaved our kids are.”

Clint laughed, “I think it helps your kids understand how to be tolerant and caring. Glad none of them are stuck with someone close-minded.” He winked at Bucky.

“Momma said Daddy made it so boys can marry boys,” TJ reported to Clint, who sat close by.

“Did she? And that’s right, he did. And it was a happy day when those two men, your cousins, finally got married. We were all happy and the party was fun. We’ve got pictures somewhere.” Clint grinned down at TJ. “Do you mind if boys marry boys or girls marry girls?”

Shaking his head, TJ said, not keeping his voice down, “I wanna marry a boy like Cousin Steve and Bucky. Girls are icky.”

“Well, when you’re old enough to legally marry, you can,” Clint assured him. “But I like my icky girl wife.”

“Doug wants to marry Momma, but he can’t marry Momma . . . Momma is married to Daddy,” TJ said, happy to talk with Clint.

Nodding, Clint leaned closer, as if telling a secret, and said, “maybe he can find a girl or boy like your Momma to marry instead?”

“Yeah!” TJ nodded happily, turning in his seat to tell Doug, “you can find a girl or boy just like Momma, Dougie!”

“Okay,” Doug looked puzzled, not having followed TJ’s conversation since he’d been talking _Matchbox_ cars with Kevin. “But not right now. I wanna be single for a bit first.”

Steve couldn’t help that he started laughing at Doug’s innocent remark. “Out of the mouths of . . . kids,” he grinned at Bucky and Natasha.

Bucky laughed as well, nodding, “wise beyond their years.”

Kevin tugged Bucky’s metal hand. “Papa? Need to go.”

Nodding, Bucky stood up and took Kevin’s hand.

“Actually,” Steve grinned. “That’s a great idea. Ava, go with Nat to see if you can before we’re stuck in a plane with small bathrooms and not enough toilet paper.” The main reason the two families had planned the joint vacation was to provide Ava a female escort while they were so far from home. “Boys, you come with Clint and Bucky and I. We’re all gonna raid the bathroom.”

**************

Fortunately, once the plane landed and everyone disembarked, Steve managed to get the entire group through baggage claim and into a Disney shuttle with little trouble. Within an hour, they were on their way to their reserved suite at the _Copper Creek Wilderness Lodge_. Opening the door to the suite, Steve let Bucky and Clint push their luggage carts in and then he counted children, “one, two, three, four, fi . . . where’s five? Five? Hey, TJ! Get over here and leave the raccoon statue alone! It’ll be there when we go exploring _together_!” Steve grinned, tired but happy.

TJ looked over from where he was touching a finely carved wooden raccoon statue. “Okay, Steve,” the eight year old ran towards the blond adult in the door and grinned up at Steve, “this place is neat!”

“So, first time living in a wilderness lodge, huh?” Steve winked and closed the suite door after TJ got in safely. “Everyone! Grab your bags and sort out beds and bureaus! We’re here for two whole weeks!”

TJ, listening to Steve’s instructions, grabbed at his bag in the middle of the pile and tried tugging it free, huffing and pulling with all his might.

Laughing, Daniel picked up a couple of bags to free TJ’s. “Better?” the fourteen year old asked.

Pulling his bag out, TJ grinned at the older boy, “thanks!”

“Hey, you want that bed by the window?” Daniel offered.

Eyes widening, TJ nodded and ran over to the offered bed by the window which had a beautiful view of the large pool. “Dougie! Look!” TJ pointed out the window, grinning widely.

Doug hurried over and said, “a pool! Wow, I didn’t bring a bathing suit.”

Steve looked at Bucky then said, “it’s okay. I think we have some pretty full days and it _is_ December, guys. We can hit the pool another time if we ever come back, okay?”

“Is the water cold?” TJ asked, turned from the window to look at Steve.

Steve stepped over and looked out. “It’s probably heated, but none of us brought bathing suits, actually.” He grinned down at the twins.

Bucky smiled down at Kevin, who always seemed very close, “hey, Tiger. You okay to share a bed with Daniel?”

“I like Daniel. He doesn’t kick when we sleep,” Kevin smiled up at Bucky. “I can share if he wants to. If he doesn’t, I can sleep in a chair. I’m small enough.” The quiet boy leaned against Bucky’s hip. “Papa, Santa will find TJ and Doug with us, right?”

“Dad and I are gonna send Santa a letter to tell him that TJ and Doug are with us. We’ll make sure the post office rushes it so it gets to him on time,” Bucky ran his flesh fingers through Kevin’s near platinum hair.

Looking thoughtful, Kevin nodded. “An e-mail might be quicker and not get lost in the holiday cards.”

Laughing softly, Bucky nodded and said, “you’re right. I’ll make sure to send him an e-mail tonight, that way he has plenty of time.”

“Papa, did Rudolph have to learn to read a map?” Kevin asked one of his surprise questions he was always coming up with.

“No, Santa guides the whole team of reindeer, including Rudolph. He knows how to read the maps so they don’t get lost,” Bucky answered readily.

“If Rudolph gets sick, are there other red-nosed reindeer to lead the team?” Kevin looked up at Bucky, smiling, enjoying the game of question-and-answer. It seemed over the years that Kevin had formed a habit of asking semi-thoughtful, semi-fanciful questions to see what Bucky would say, not really searching for real answers unless that’s what Bucky wanted to give.

Thinking for a moment, Bucky said, “I don’t know, Kevin. Rudolph is the only red-nosed reindeer that I know of. But, Rudolph’s been around since I was a kid, so, I bet he has had babies since then.”

Nodding, Kevin said, “the TV said he turned seventy-seven this year. He’s a grandpa reindeer.”

“Exactly,” Bucky grinned, “he just trains all the new reindeers.”

“Hey, Papa, I heard something about reindeer. There are reindeer herds in Alaska. And caribou. Do you know what the difference between reindeer and caribou is?” Kevin smiled.

“I don’t,” Bucky admitted with a smile, “do you?”

Nodding sagely, Kevin said, “reindeer fly.”

Laughing, Bucky nodded and ruffled his fingers through Kevin’s soft hair, “good one, Tiger.”

Kevin leaned into Bucky some more. "Tired . . . can I lay down? I don't want a seizure before dinner." He raised his light grey eyes to meet Bucky’s pale blue.

“Of course,” Bucky nodded, leading the boy towards the bed he’d share with Daniel.

Kevin looked at the huge queen-sized bed. “Daniel? Can I choose my half?”

Daniel looked over and smiled gently at his best friend’s cousin. “Sure, Kev.”

“Cool,” Kevin grinned brightly. “Thanks!” He climbed up and lay across the pillows at the head of the bed. “I’ll take this half.”

Daniel and Steve started laughing.

“Can we go explore?” TJ asked, bouncing from one foot to the other, not at all tired after the long flight.

Steve looked over at Bucky. “You wanna rest or explore, Buck?” he asked, helping Daniel wrestle a couple of pillows from the playful Kevin.

“Well,” Bucky looked at the others in their party, “who wants to rest?”

“Explore!” Clint raised his hand.

“I think some resting might be nice,” Natasha answered with a laugh.

“I wanna explore!” TJ raised his hand high in the air.

“Explore,” Daniel grinned, while, almost at the same time, Kevin said, “rest, please, Papa.”

“I wanna stay here,” Ava agreed with her adoptive brother.

Steve looked at Bucky then Doug. “Dougie?”

“I’ll go with TJ wherever he goes,” the boy said with a nod, grabbing his twin’s hand.

“So he’s gonna explore!” TJ beamed happily.

“I’m gonna explore,” Doug confirmed with a nod, smiling.

Bucky laughed and nodded, looking at Steve, “Steve? You wanna explore or hang out in the room?”

Steve hesitated, indicating he wanted to do something but was worried to choose that, a definite hold-over from the days he’d been an abuse victim. Though Steve had long ago learned that he wouldn’t be punished for making personal choices, he still had that tell. Slowly, he said, “well, as it stands, that’s three kids with Clint.”

“I can go with Clint if you wanna stay here,” Bucky offered Steve a reassuring smile, “but, if you want to explore, that’s cool, too.”

Steve looked thoughtful then nodded. “Boys, TJ, Doug, you’ll mind Bucky and Clint, right? No wandering off? Tell them if something looks exploring worthy?” That answer alone revealed Steve’s choice.

Doug nodded. “Yes, sir, Cousin Steve. We’ll behave real good.”

“Sure,” TJ agreed with a smile and nod, grabbing Doug’s hand and tugging him towards the main room.

Steve looked at Bucky. “If it’s okay, I’d like to stay and keep an eye on Kevin?”

“Yeah, that’s great,” Bucky nodded, checking to make sure he had his wallet and things before looking at Clint, “you ready to go explore?” Since Bucky’s car accident he had some short-term memory loss issues and had begun to rely heavily on lists and set routines, such as always checking his pockets before leaving the house even if he’d just entered it.

Before Clint could answer, Steve called out, “the same goes for you, Clint, as for the twins. No wandering off without warning! Stay together!”

Clint paused and grinned at Steve, bemused.

**************

In the morning, Steve walked into the room where Daniel and Kevin shared a bed. He lifted his wide-awake seven year old from the bed before he could wake the older body by trying to climb down. THe pair walked into the main sitting area. Steve grinned at TJ and poked him lightly, “gonna at least brush your hair, even if you don’t need to worry about pictures?”

“I _did_ brush my hair,” TJ said, patting the top of his head, his curls bouncing slightly, “jus’ sticks up like this. I don’t like usin’ a comb, it hurts when it gets stuck on a tangle.”

Nodding, Steve said, “get Cousin Bucky to show you how to do it. His hair does the same thing.” He grinned and headed over to the room Ava slept in, knocking on the door. “Ava? You up?”

“Yeah,” Ava called back, not sounding sleepy. The thirteen year old opened the door, fully dressed and ready to go. “We leaving soon?”

“Well, Daniel and his parents aren’t up or out here, at least. Bucky and Doug, either. Hungry?” Steve grinned at the girl.

Nodding, Ava slipped out of the room she had to herself, being the only girl aside from Natasha. “Yeah . . . what’s for breakfast?”

“I’m sure they have all kinds of food at the main lodge dining area,” Steve chuckled. He turned and grinned wider as Clint walked out of the bedroom he shared with his wife. “Morning, Clint.”

“Yeah,” Clint grunted, “Bucky warned me about you. You like to go for runs in the morning, you freak.”

“I’m hungry, too, Steve,” TJ called out from where he still sat on the sofa.

“Wait, you want food, too?” Steve seemed surprised, though his blue eyes danced.

Laughing, TJ nodded, “uh huh. Can we have breakfast?”

Doug yawned, walking out of his room and rubbing his eyes.

“As soon as we determine who’s getting up to go to Hollywood Studios with us and who’s lazing around in the lodge,” Steve chuckled, looking towards his own bedroom he shared with his husband.

Bucky walked out of the bedroom he shared with Steve, working his mechanical arm as he attempted to get the prosthetic comfortable.

“Need help?” Steve walked over to help settle the arm.

“Yeah, think one of the buckles might be twisted, tried to put it on while half asleep,” Bucky laughed softly.

Nodding, Steve checked all the buckles and straightened the twisted onr. “Better?” he asked.

“Yeah, lots,” Bucky grinned at his husband, giving him a quick kiss and then pulling on his shirt, not seeming embarrassed to show his scarred chest.

Chuckling, stealing a second kiss, Steve said, “Daniel and Natasha are competing for longest snooze.”

“No, Nat’s been up for an hour. Did her morning exercises and everything. Daniel’s the slug-a-bed.”

“You two, I swear,” Bucky chuckled, shaking his head, “and all your damn exercises.”

“You’ll wish you’d been exercising every morning when you’re older,” Natasha said as she walked out of the bedroom, freshly showered and in her clothes for the day.

“Keeps her young and sexy, who’m I to complain?” Clint laughed.

“What’s sexy mean?” TJ asked, slipping off the couch to walk over to the others.

“Means,” Steve laughed, “Clint’s still in love with Natasha even though they’ve been married since they left school.”

“Oh . . . so, Daddy doesn’t think Momma’s sexy anymore?” TJ asked thoughtfully, tilting his head slightly.

“Not sure,” Steve answered, wary of saying the wrong thing, but he kept smiling. “Maybe you should ask him what he thinks. He hasn’t told me.”

“Oh . . . okay,” TJ nodded and asked, “can we get breakfast yet?”

Clint grinned wickedly. “You wanna go pounce on Daniel and get him up? After he’s up we can go eat.”

Eyes lighting up, TJ nodded, “can I? And I won’t get in trouble?”

“Nah, if he roars, tell him his Dad said you could,” Clint laughed merrily.

Nodding, TJ ran from the room, pouncing on the bed where Daniel slept.

Daniel grunted and rolled over to pull TJ into a cuddle, his eyes closed. “Got the Kevin-monster!” he chuckled sleepily.

“Not Kevin,” TJ squirmed out of Daniel’s arms, messing up his wild hair even more.

Daniel’s eyes opened wide and he let go of TJ. “Uh . . .sorry. When Kevin sleeps over or I sleep over there, he pounces me awake?”

Grinning, TJ poked Daniel’s chest, “gonna get up so we can get breakfast? I’m hungry.”

“Shoulda pounced sooner if you wanted to eat sooner,” Daniel chuckled and got out of bed. He grabbed some clothes and popped into the bathroom real quick.

Running back out to the others, TJ reported happily, “he’s up. He’s gettin’ changed.”

Kevin smiled. “He pretends to sleep so I can pounce him like a cat.”

“Well, he’s gettin’ changed so we can get breakfast,” TJ said.

Bucky laughed and looked at Clint, “never seen someone so excited for breakfast other than you.”

Clint laughed back. “Yeah, one of my five favorite meals a day!”

“There’s only _three_ meals in a day, Clint,” TJ corrected the adult with a smile.

“Really?” Clint looked surprised. “You only get to eat three? Guess I’m lucky. I get breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper, and snacks.” He ticked off the words with a finger folding down each.

“Momma doesn’t let us get _that_ much,” TJ’s eyes widened at the idea of that many meals in a day.

Laughing, Steve said, “he’s teasing. Dinner is another word for lunch or supper. And snacks aren’t a meal. They’re a tummy settler between meals.”

After Daniel had gotten changed, the group made their way down to the lodge’s dining area. Bucky hung near the back of the party, constantly checking to make sure all the kids were safe and within sight. TJ wandered a few times but Doug always managed to bring his twin back before he got too far.

After the group of nine got to the table and ordered, Steve placed a group of papers on the table and pulled out a pen. “So, here’s what the plans are for the trip, so pay attention everyone.” He handed a paper to each adult and Ava and Daniel. He let the twins look over his shoulders, so to speak, while Kevin crawled into Bucky’s lap to see. “We’re here long enough to hit all the parks in Disney and Universal, but we won’t. We’re skipping the water parks.” He waited for the reactions.

“‘Cause no one brought their bathing suits?” TJ asked, not looking upset to be missing out on the water parks.

“I can’t swim,” Kevin said, matter-of-factly. He looked up at Bucky, smiling sweetly.

“Maybe next summer Dad can teach you?” Bucky offered Kevin a smile in return.

Steve chuckled, and continued to include their three youngest members in the plans. “Instead, we go to parks for two days then get a day to play and rest in the lodge or just shop if we want. Then we go to two parks for two days and rest again. With the way this works out, we rest on Christmas Day, so we will be able to open presents, play, and have family time. Sound fun?”

Doug’s eyes widened. “It’s twenty-second of December. Christmas is in three days!”

“Are Momma and Daddy gonna come then?” TJ asked, looking between Steve and Bucky.

Steve shook his head. “Nope, they’re gonna have some adult time for Christmas. Instead, you get to have Christmas with us at Disney World, so we have five kids to have fun with!” He grinned wide, hoping he sounded cheery and not forced.

“Oh . . . okay,” TJ nodded and looked down at the maps again.

“And this evening we can decorate the tree . . .” Steve suggested. “I plan to get a tree to put up on that coffee table in the living room of our suite. And we’ll get decorations at the different stores over the next couple of days.”

“I like decorating the Christmas tree. Daddy always gets the biggest one, huh, Doug?” TJ asked, looking over at his twin.

Doug nodded. “Always way bigger’n me, and I’m a tall kid,” he confirmed. “Where we going today?”

Steve grinned back, much like the kids. “Hollywood Studios. We’ll be meeting the Star Wars people. I was thinking you might want to try out the Jedi Academy, if you’re Force Sensitive?”

“And be a Jedi?” TJ’s eyes widened slightly, “that’s so cool!”

Nodding, Steve pointed to the map in front of the twins. “See? This way each adult and older kid has a map. If we find ourselves separated, don’t panic. Head for this part of the park, it’s easiest to see from every part of it. And if you lose the adults, TJ, Doug, Kevin, go to one of the cast members. You’ll recognize them easily enough. We’ll point them out.”

“Momma says not to go with strangers,” TJ said, looking at the place on the map that Steve pointed to.

“These cast members work for Mickey Mouse and are here to help the guests, like us. They are trained to help find lost parents,” Steve assured the boy.

“Oh, okay,” TJ nodded his understanding.

The wait staff delivered the food to the group and Steve continued while everyone ate. “We’ll do another park tomorrow, and since it’s one more day until Christmas after that, we’ll go to do Magic Kingdom on Christmas Eve or shop or something. But we’ll go back to Magic Kingdom later on vacation, too, so don’t worry if we miss anything, okay?”

Clint nodded, swallowing, “good. I don’t wanna miss meeting Tinker Bell.”

Bucky snorted softly, shaking his head as he grinned at Clint.

Clint waggled his eyebrows, which earned him a playful slap on his shoulder from Natasha. “Oh, you know as soon as you see Kylo Ren walking around today, I’ve lost you,” Clint teased back.

Natasha laughed, “something about the dark side does it for me.”

Bucky looked at Kevin, “you liking your breakfast?”

Kevin looked up at Bucky. “Need me to get off your lap, Papa? I’m trying to be still.” He smiled.

“Well, I want you to be able to eat your breakfast. We got a long day of walking and whatnot. Gotta fuel up,” Bucky winked at his adoptive son.

“I’m too little to be in Jedi training, right, Papa?” Kevin asked, seeming not bothered that the age limit was at nine and he was a very small-sized seven.

“Yeah,” Bucky confirmed with a nod, taking another bite of his own breakfast. 

“Then I’ll watch and learn like Anakin, but I won’t be silly enough to kill the entire village,” Kevin decided.

Laughing, Bucky nodded, “that’s good, Kevin. And you’re not silly, you’re very smart. You’ll be a good Jedi, even if you’re too little for the Academy right now.”

“It gives me time to learn more by watching. Then I’ll be a really good Jedi when it’s my turn.” Kevin smiled up at Bucky.

Daniel snorted. “I’ll tell you what, Kev. When we get back to the room, I’ll train you. We can all train you.”

Kevin’s eyes lit up. “Really? Ava, you, too? You’ll train me what you learn?”

“Of course!” Ava nodded, smiling at her small adoptive brother, “look at Yoda, he’s small and he’s the best Jedi ever. You’ll be just like Yoda.”

“But it’s not because I’m short that they won’t train me, Ava. The rules say nine to fourteen years old. I’m seven,” Kevin pointed out without bitterness. He smiled happily, jsut enjoying being there.

“Dougie and I won’t be able to train either,” TJ said, looking at Steve. 

Steve looked at Bucky then drew a breath. “TJ, Doug, Daniel, Ava, each of you are one year off on something I know you’ll want to do. So, if you agree, I’m going to let the cast think you’re either a year younger or older so you can do the activity. Will you agree to let me have them believe the age is different?” He waited.

“Like make-believe? Doug and I play make-believe all the time,” TJ said, smiling brightly.

Steve nodded, biting his lip. He hated to lie, but without this lie on the ages, Ava wouldn’t be allowed to do the Princess make-over; she was too old for it by three months. And he really wanted to surprise her with that. And it seemed too heart-breaking not to let the twins play the Jedi Academy event just because they were a few months too young, when they were both tall, bright kids who may never get back to Disney in time. Once they got into the White House, there would be no family vacations of anonymity left.

“If the adults say it’s okay, I can keep it a secret,” Kevin confirmed, finishing off his pancakes.

“It’s fine by me,” Bucky nodded, finishing off his own meal, smiling at Steve as he held Kevin in his arms.

Clint paused, eyes widening. “Wait . . . nine to _fourteen_? You mean I’m too old to be in the Academy?”

“Think you missed the deadline by a few decades,” Bucky teased his long-time friend.

“But Nat says I _act_ like a twelve year old. Does that count?” Clint begged.

“Maybe Ava, Daniel, TJ, and Doug can give you and Kevin lessons,” Bucky winked at Clint.

“All right!” Clint slid his hand over the table towards Kevin who slapped his palm, grinning. The adult crooned, “gonna be a Jedi.”

Steve laughed, and let the staff clear away their breakfast stuff. He gave everyone a chance to finish their drinks and go over the maps some more. “Now, if we want to split up so different kids can go on different rides, we have to arrange each kid, or pair, gets a specific adult. We should do that now.“ He pulled out the colored park braclets they’d gotten at check in to the hotel. He’d specifically paired up colors. “Ava, you have a pink bracelet. I know you’ll want to do rides with me or Bucky, and that’s great, but I’ve paired you with Natasha so you can both go to the bathroom as buddies. That fair?” He held out matching pink hopper bracelets.

Nodding, Ava took her bracelet with a grin, “that’s great! Thanks!”

Smiling, Steve held up a pair of yellow. “Bucky and Kevin are buddies.”

“Sunshine!” Kevin crowed happily, taking his small bracelet.

Laughing, Bucky took the yellow bracelet from his husband. He and Steve had talked ahead of time on the plane, knowing that Kevin would be sitting out on a lot of the rides, and Bucky had assured Steve that he’d have no problem waiting with the small seven year old.

Kevin showed off his bracelet to the others.

“Clint and Daniel are buddies,” Steve laughed, offering the two dark blue bracelets.

Clint and his adopted son took their bracelets, excitedly chatting.

Steve looked at the twins. “So, these gray ones are for us. Do you mind being my two buddies?” While on the plane, Steve had offered to buddy both twins for Bucky, worried having to watch two kids would drive Bucky’s anxiety high.

“Cool!” TJ said, grabbing the bracelet and putting it on. “Dougie and I go everywhere together.”

Looking relieved, Steve said, “oh good. I was hoping you two didn’t mind being buddies.” He slid on his own bracelet, on the opposite wrist to his heart alert bracelet. “Here’s the deal, twins,” Steve said to get their attention. “I have a heart problem and can’t go on a lot of scary rides. So, I’ll go in line with you then wait in the parent swap area for you to ride. You immediately return to me when the ride finishes, okay? If either of you or both of you run off, we can’t do that anymore. Gonna cooperate and stay close to me so I don’t have to tell your Momma you got kidnapped and made to work in the Small World ride or something?”

Eyes widening, TJ shook his head, “don’t wanna be kidnapped. I’ll stay close to you, Steve.”

Doug nodded somberly. “Yes, sir, Cousin Steve I’ll stick close and so with TJ. And we can ride by ourselves and come right back. We’re big, responsible boys.” He pronounced the word without difficulty, proving he was long used to it.

“Sure are,” TJ nodded, grinning proudly.

“Okay,” Steve offered a card to the waitress who came to get the bill paid. He signed the bill, not showing anyone else the costs. As had been pre-agreed with Bucky and Natasha and Clint, Steve would cover the trip using the proceeds from his latest art sale, which had been quite lucrative. It was his Christmas gift to the two families. He could have easily afforded to include the twins completely, but didn’t want Elaine and Bud to get in the habit of using them as unexpected babysitters. He’d make them pay their way instead, so the sudden springing of twin-sitting meant something to them more than convenience.

“Can we go to the park now?” TJ asked.

“Nope, everyone hit the bathrooms first, then we’ll go,” Steve said, folding up his own copy of the map. He grinned down at TJ. “Some of us can get too excited and accidentally wet ourselves if we forget to use the toilet, right Clint?”

“Yeah, sorry, gotta hit the john,” Clint agreed.

“Okay,” TJ nodded, slipping out of his seat and pushing the chair back in behind him.

“TJ,” Steve smiled widely, “wait for your buddies, okay?” He strode around the table, collecting hands with gray bracelets on the wrists. “One . . . two. Good, I’ve got them all. We can go.”

Kevin giggled. “Am I three or one, Papa?” he smiled up at Bucky, taking the metal hand as easily as he would the flesh.

“You’re my one,” Bucky laughed.

“So, I’m number one?” Kevin teased. “Yay! I’m a winner!”

As soon as the entire party visited the restrooms, they all piled into one of the buses that would take them to the first park they’d be visiting.


	2. From Jedi to Safari

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **WARNINGS: Possible signs of parental neglect, animal fear triggers**

Steve kept his voice low as he talked to his group, “now those bands can get you into the rides faster, once per ride. But you have to get a special time. Each adult has a phone app that reminds us of our time. Our bracelets are linked to our phones. And our shopping,” he looked at Clint and Nat to remind them that their purchases could go straight to their credit cards they linked and could be delivered to their suite for them. Since Steve had linked his own card for the trip to every bracelet, anything anyone bought on the bracelet Steve would consider part of their gift. “So, we hit the kiosks for each ride that has a long wait, get our time with the bracelets and the phone will remind us when it’s time to ride. Sound good?”

The bus pulled up, disgorged the passengers, and drove off again. Steve led his small army to the gates and they all got in quite easily with the bracelets, no need to fumble ticket cards or go to check in. It had been all handled at the hotel the night before. “Also, everyone’s phone is programmed with Jedi Academy times and the show times. But, if we want to stick together, that’s fine, too. Let’s have fun. And guys?” Steve turned and grinned wide, “smile. You’re at Disney!”

Kevin clapped his hands in delight.

Bucky grinned, staying close to Kevin, though his eyes did a sweep of their group to make sure everyone was there.

Steve made sure they all got in on the big photo taken at the gate. He led the group off towards the rides further in, skipping the main shopping area that led between rides and exit. They could shop as a break once the kids ran off their energy. “Who’s for the _Great Movie Ride_?”

TJ looked up at Steve, “me!”

Steve nodded and their day began.

Fortunately, the group stayed together for the most part, content to hang out and do most rides or sit-outs together. Kevin often went with the other kids while Bucky and Steve sat and watched, both on medication and with ailments that prevented a lot of riding. Clint took charge when those times happened. Sometimes Kevin wanted to do a little kid ride, and the entire group were able to ride with him, since it had been designed for families. Kevin loved those times and repeatedly hugged the closest family member while in lines.

Clint’s phone beeped and he looked at it. “ _Rockin’ Roller Coaster_ , Daniel. Our tickets are ready. Come on,” and for the first time all day, one of the teams broke off from the group.

“I see it’s time to meet Kylo Ren,” Steve said, looking at his own phone. “Ladies, wasn’t that your ticket?”

“Sure was,” Natasha beamed and lead Ava off, who looked just as excited.

Steve turned to Bucky and the three younger boys. “I guess that means we can kill some time doing the Buzz Lightyear stuff or the Muppets? Wanna go do the Muppets?”

Kevin grabbed TJ suddenly, “there’s a Muppet-vision show! Can we do that?” He looked at his cousin.

TJ looked at Kevin and then up at the adults, “yeah, let’s do that!”

Steve nodded and texted the other two groups that they were doing the Muppet area and would meet everyone for Jedi Academy. He put away his phone. “Then let’s go get Gonzo’d.”

At that section of the park, Steve stopped in front of the face painter and asked, “anyone wanna get face painted?”

TJ looked at the different designs on the board for several long moments.

Doug nodded. “Can I be a tiger?” He smiled at TJ.

TJ’s eyes lit up when he saw a certain design, “I wanna be a wolf!”

Nodding, Steve laughed, “okay, buddies, tell the artist what you want.”

“Kevin?” Bucky asked, looking down at the smaller boy, “did you want your face painted?”

Nodding, Kevin traced the glittery swirled design of a fairy makeup. “This one? It’s pretty.”

Grinning, not minding at all that Kevin picked a _girl’s_ design, Bucky nodded, “yeah, it’s real pretty. Good choice.”

Doug looked at it. He frowned in puzzlement as the artist began TJ’s wolf painting. “But isn’t that a girl make up, Cousin Bucky?”

Bucky opened and closed his mouth a few times.

Steve saw Bucky’s struggle with the right words and said, “in our family, Doug, we wear what makes us happy and comfortable. Color and style aren’t gender different for us.”

“Oh,” Doug nodded then smiled. “So, if TJ wants to wear gold, he can wear gold? And I can wear white, even after school starts?”

“White after Labor Day?” Steve teased. Then he nodded. “Yes. On this vacation, you wear what makes you happy. Just as long as the private bits are covered, that is.”

“Even PJ’s outside?” TJ asked.

Steve laughed. “Yes,” he agreed in a firm voice. “This is vacation. And it’s not against the rules to wear pajamas in the parks, so you can dress in PJ’s if you really want to.” Steve grinned as the artist finished TJ’s makeup and started on Doug’s tiger. “Look in the mirror, Luna. I mean, TJ,” he said.

Looking in the provided mirror, TJ gasped and grinned widely, “that’s so cool! I look like Luna!”

Soon Doug was finished and the artist worked on Kevin’s fairy make-up, not saying a word about a little boy getting it done.

After Kevin’s was done, TJ smiled at the smaller boy, “your’s is pretty, Kevin! I like the colors!”

Kevin looked in the mirror in delight. “Thanks, TJ. I like your’s and Doug’s, too.” Steve paid for the work and took the kids and his husband off to do more park stuff, always keeping his eye out for the Jedi time coming up. It wasn’t easy to get a place in the academy; the classes filled up fast. In fact, Steve had rearranged the entire schedule on the phone when they’d gotten saddled with the twins just so they could get the boys into the class, too.

Once the entire party rejoined in front of the Jedi Academy building, Kevin proudly showed off his pretty make-up to his adopted sister.

“How pretty, Kevin!” Ava smiled, not surprised in the least that Kevin had picked out a more feminine face-art; she’d long gotten used to Kevin’s choices.

“Okay, kids,” Clint said, checking his watch. “We have time to get registered with the Masters and find out if you guys have the force strong enough. Ready to audition for the Masters?”

“Will they be mean?” TJ asked.

Steve widened his eyes. “Would Mickey Mouse let mean masters run the Jedi Academy he let them build here?”

“No?” TJ drawled, looking up at Steve.

“Good answer, kiddo,” Clint laughed and gave TJ a gentle shove between the shoulder blades. Doug walked without question.

Steve smiled at Ava. “Knock ‘em dead, Princess.” He switched the the nickname from the traditional _pumpkin_ he’d always used because of where they were, but he wondered if he should keep it up afterwards, too. _Pumpkin_ was a little kid nickname, after all.

Smiling at Steve, Ava nodded and took Daniel’s arm, dragging her best friend with her. Daniel looked excited. “Think we’ll meet Yoda?” he asked quietly, as if he really believed these to be genuine Jedi.

“You never know,” Ava said in return, just loud enough for Doug and TJ to hear in front of them, “maybe if we’re good enough.”

Nodding, eagerly, Doug watched with wide eyes as several kids before them met the lady handing out Padawan robes and green or blue practice sabers. She smiled and asked, “do you prefer green or blue?”

Looking at the woman with his naturally wide eyes, TJ said, “I like blue?” She nodded and smield, handing him a blue saber.

“Green!” Doug instantly said, receiving a green practice saber.

“Red,” Daniel said and the woman shook her head.

“Sorry, blue or green.”

“I’ll take green,” Ava answered, nudging Daniel’s arm with her elbow gently.

Daniel nodded, “then I’ll be blue. Must balance the force, right?”

Laughing, the lady nodded and handed over the requested colors.

As the four kids got their group lesson in using the sabers safely, Kevin sat up on Steve’s shoulders so he could see above the crowd. He softly said, “I’d pick pink if it was there.”

“Yeah?” Steve nodded. “I’m more a traditionalist. I’d go blue.”

“I’d definitely pick red,” Bucky laughed, grinning up at Kevin.

“I want rainbow,” Clint said, smirking.

“Oh! Can I change to rainbow, too?” Kevin asked excitedly.

“Don’t see why not,” Bucky told the boy.

“Oh!” Clint grinned, “let’s all choose rainbow and start a munchkin revolution!”

The six foot two inch Steve frowned and said, “but I’m not a munchkin.”

“You used to be,” Bucky teased, grinning at his husband, “so it still counts.”

Flushing, Steve ducked his head, smiling. “Yeah, I was a munchkin and a punk, right?”

“That makes you a _punkin_ ,” Kevin laughed.

Laughing, Bucky nodded his agreement, “there ya go! Got a new name for you, Steve!”

Groaning, Steve glanced back at the stage, where the kids were in a mock battle with a bad guy under the tutelage of their Jedi guide. Each kid was given a chance to strike at the bad guy a couple of times - - saber hit left, saber hit right, saber hit above the head. Then the next kid went. Kevin’s breath caught as each saber clashed, the little boy afraid that one of the others would slip and someone would get hurt. In the end, good vanquished evil once again.

As the young padawans exited the stage area amid applause and excited chatter by watching families, Steve called out “to me, my padawans. I think it’s time to hit the shops for some drinks and snacks!” Kevin added his own cheer.

TJ ran up to the group, grinning widely, “you see that? We did good, huh?”

Clint knelt down and turned his phone to the boy, letting all the kids gather in. He replayed the entire training sequence for them and the epic battle. “Whatcha think?” he asked softly.

“We beat the bad guy! Jus’ like in the movies!” TJ smiled at his twin, “you got ‘im good, Dougie!”

“Right in the nose,” Doug agreed, laughing. And you got him four times. We were told left right head, and you went left right left head.”

“And it worked! I tricked him!” TJ replied proudly.

Kevin clapped his hands. “I can learn that, I know I can!”

Bucky laughed and nodded, “I don’t doubt that for a minute, Tiger.” The brunet did another sweep of the group, counting heads to make sure they weren’t missing anyone.

Daniel talked with Ava as he watched the replay, smiling and looking happy. Clint looked around, counted heads, then said, “into the Cantina gang! Must have lunch not snack.”

On their way to the spot they’d have lunch, TJ’s eyes caught on a neat display in the window, drawing his attention and he began to detour from the rest of the group.

A large, gentle hand on TJ’s shoulder came down, and Steve said softly, “whatcha doin’, TJ?”

Blinking, as if he hadn’t even realized he’d been moving away from the party, TJ looked at Steve, “that window has cool stuff in it . . .”

“Did you want to look at the stuff for a moment before we get food?” Steve offered, unlike his parents who’d insist they hurry along instead of window shop.

Nodding, TJ said, “yeah, I think I see a shirt with Yoda on it.”

Steve lifted his eyes to the group and called, “Cantina after this shop, please. TJ would like to look through. He thought he saw Yoda.”

“Yoda? Cool!” Daniel detoured towards the store.

“Yeah,” TJ nodded and lead the older boy towards the shirt he’d seen in the window, “look!”

“It _is_ Yoda! Hey Dad, you wanted to get a Yoda shirt, right?” Daniel turned his head to look at Clint.

Clint grinned. “Okay, food after this shop. Come on, let's’ go buy my Yoda shirt. Hey, maybe you kids can see if you can build your lightsabers? All Padawans have to.”

Bucky walked up beside Steve and gave his husband a small smile, “good catch, Steve. I hadn’t even seen he was moving away.”

“I was actually watching the twins, wondering what they’d be choosing for lunch, when TJ got a glazed look and wandered. I don’t think he even realized he was walking away.” Steve grinned, he and Bucky entering the tourist shop last. He watched as the kids located and started working at the light saber building station, grinning. “So, Bucky, ever consider getting back into fostering?”

Eyebrows shooting up in surprise, Bucky glanced at Steve and then back at the kids, “I think our two are enough. Unless you’ve been thinking about it? If so, we can talk about it when we get back?”

Steve smiled softly, “oh, I think it’ll take several months of serious thinking and talking before we can decide to take another kid in, Bucky, but . . . I do love kids.”

Sighing softly, a small smile on his face, Bucky nodded, “yeah . . .”

Looking at his husband, Steve softly said, “thanks for letting me spoil everyone this Christmas.”

Pale eyes flickering to meet Steve’s bright blue again, Bucky smiled at his husband, “you’re welcome. Thank you for doing this, Steve, really. It’ll be a trip all of them are gonna remember for the rest of their lives.”

“It was the last time we could get Ava into the make-over we have planned, Bucky. And I figured you wanted to see your princess really dressed as a princess.” Steve smiled wider at Kevin who dragged over a double-sided light saber that was bigger than he was. “Wow, Kevin! You really _do_ have the force!”

“I’d say!” Bucky grinned at the little boy.

“Steve! Bucky!” TJ came running over with a blue Kylo Ren style lightsaber, “look at what I made!”

“Woah,” Bucky smiled at his young cousin, “that’s really cool, TJ!”

Daniel strode over, looking quite please with his saber, another Kylo Ren style, but with purple blade. He grinned wide. “Dad’s making a saber, too.”

Ava came over shortly after Daniel, carrying a normal style lightsaber with a purple blade, “these are so cool!” She exclaimed with an excited smile.

“Thanks!” Doug said, arriving with his traditional saber of green.

Clint laughed, walking over with a traditional style saber, too. Then he showed them he’d gotten the red blade. “Hey, Nat . . . I’m a bad boy, just like you like,” he suggested. He handed her a bag with something inside. “For you.”

Natasha quirked a brow at her husband and pulled out the item in the bag. She laughed as she looked at the shirt that read _‘Judge me by my size, do you?’_ Grinning at Clint, she quickly kissed his lips, “it’s perfect!”

Steve laughed and said, “if we get autograph books and pens, we can get these guys to sign them for us?” He gestured to an array of autograph books displayed at the counter.

“You mean the characters are gonna sign them for us?” TJ asked, looking up at Steve, pale eyes wide.

“If we ask them, they will. It’s the arrangement they made with Mickey Mouse. Even Kylo Ren agreed to sign!” Steve grinned down at the boy. “And we can get them from other parks, too. If we run out of room, we can get more books. It’ll be fun, right?” He knew that while the kids rode the rides, he’d be holding onto the books.

“Yeah!” TJ grabbed Doug’s hand and pulled him towards the autograph books, “which one you gonna get, Dougie?”

“The one with the Tower of Terror picture!” Doug smiled. “I think it’s a neat hotel!”

Steve smiled as the rest of the kids joined them, including Clint, to pick out books and pens. Turning to Bucky, Steve said, “and what souvenir did you want?”

Bucky looked around the shop for several moments before turning back to Steve, “nothing here,” he grinned at his husband, “I like just watchin’ all the kids, and Clint,” he teased with a wink, “havin’ so much fun.”

“I’ve been snapping pictures, but most have them looking at things, not at the camera,” Steve sighed happily. “I love watching them in motion, natural and happy.”

Nodding his agreement, Buck leaned in closer to Steve, giving him a quick kiss, “so, you think that TJ doesn’t even realize he’s walkin’ away?”

Nodding, Steve said, “I think it’s kinda like Clint and Nat’s foster kid last year, Hermie? You know how he’d wander away then looked shocked to find himself somewhere else? We thought he was just being reckless but it turned out he just was absent minded about it. He’d see something and move towards it because he was concentrating on it so hard.” Steve kept a close eye on TJ most, knowing Kevin and Ava wouldn’t wander and Doug was pretty much linked to TJ by the hand at most times.

Bucky watched TJ for a few moments and then nodded, “yeah, I remember that. I mean, so far, TJ’s only wandered once in the park, so that’s a plus? How you doing?” Bucky looked back at Steve, “watching the twins? You got two kids to keep an eye on, everyone else has one.”

Laughing softly, Steve said, “hold on, babe.” He trotted towards TJ and Doug, as the boys got further away, “whatcha find, TJ? Let us catch up!” he reminded the boy.

TJ pointed at a wall of different _Star Wars_ toys, “look! Yoda and Kylo Ren and all the others!”

“Wow! Those _are_ cool. Think the others might want to see them, too? Got an idea. If you see something cool, let everyone know so no one misses it, right?” Steve smiled and gestured for Clint to herd the others in their direction, which the shorter blond did smoothly, as if he and Steve had practiced child herding. Turning back to Bucky, Steve said, “I’m actually only watching TJ. Doug is like an extension of him and doesn’t seem inclined to be away from his twin at all.”

Nodding, Bucky smiled and watched as all the kids looked at the different figures for sale, “smart.”

Running back to the adults with a Kylo Ren action figure, TJ showed it to them, “look!”

“That’s cool, moving arms and everything,” Steve admired. After a few minutes of letting TJ have his own way in the toys, Steve gently put the one back TJ held and called, “I think it’s time for some rides. We haven’t gone on Star Tours yet, guys. And we still need lunch. Clint’s wilting!”

“And he gets cranky when he’s hungry,” Natasha teased, smiling at her husband.

“It’s not pretty when a Clint wilts,” the shorter blond man agreed happily. “And I hear that the dark side has chocolate for dessert!”

“Dougie and I like chocolate!” TJ grinned excitedly.

“Then let us go, young Padawans, and see if we can sucker the dark side into sharing!” Clint called and led the way from the store, actually grabbing TJ’s hand and grinning down at the boy. Since Doug held TJ’s other hand, then Kevin grabbed Doug’s hand, a chain began to form.

Bucky followed in the rear, watching his group with a wide smile, feeling happier and more relaxed than he had in a long time.

As the group moved from one activity to another, Steve had lightsabers, t-shirts, mugs, and other things the group bought sent to their suite. He carried the bag of autograph books without complaint, avoiding any ride that warned a person with heart problems not to go. He also wound up sitting with Kevin the one time the boy softly cried about not being allowed on a ride, not for his size but because of his seizure disorder. Steve specifically tried to keep Kevin in mind when they went around the park, so the little boy only had the one depressed episode. Each kid might have a buddy adult assigned, but Steve tried to keep everyone together as a big family unit as much as possible. He even got Kevin a duplicate of Natasha’s shirt, which delighted the little boy. He wore it the rest of the day.

Finally, as the skies were darkening, Steve said, “there are two different fireworks shows in this park. There’s _Fantasmic_ , which is on a river and Mickey will be there. And there’s the _Star Wars Galactic Event_ , which is over by the _Great Movie Ride_.”

“Wanna do Star Wars,” TJ said, though the eight year old seemed like he was beginning to fall asleep standing up. He leaned heavily against Steve’s hip, eyes drooping.

Chuckling, Steve asked, “you sure you don’t just wanna go back to the lodge and sleep? You really wanna stay and see some space laser battle happen right in front of your eyes?”

Rubbing his eyes, looking like he gave a true effort to wake up, TJ looked up at Steve, “wanna see space laser battle . . .”

Nodding, Steve said, “okay, anyone wanna see Mickey?” He looked around.

Kevin asked, “we’re here for two weeks. Can we see him another time?” He looked up at Bucky, excitement in his eyes.

Running his right fingers through Kevin’s hair, Bucky nodded, giving the boy a smile, “there will be plenty of time to see Mickey while we’re here.”

“Then I wanna go see the Star Wars, please,” he said, lifting his arms to be picked up, knowing his weight wouldn’t strain Bucky’s arm too much.

Bucky swung the boy up in his arms and smiled at him, “yeah, I agree, Star Wars sounds cool.”

“And then bed,” Kevin whispered, his head laying on Bucky’s shoulder.

Ava nodded, “Star Wars sounds fun.”

After the others voted, it was unanimous and they went to the gathering crowd at the designated spot. That was when a whole new slew of wonderful toys showed up, including Mickey ears that, when a button was pressed, lit up in a space battle, glow necklaces and ears, and a wide array of other night time toys. Daniel got a pair of the space battle ears, but Clint refrained and Doug seemed more interested in watching the crowd than wearing glowing ears. TJ stayed close to Steve, leaning on him as he continued to rub his eyes, looking around in an effort to stay awake.

The opening bars of the Star Wars theme rocked through the air and the show began; all movie scenes played across the building, lasers shot through the air, smoke and flames so hot the audience murmured at the feel, and fireworks drew the gasping attention of every child-hearted member of those watching, and every Star Wars geek as well. When the show ended half an hour later, Steve checked around, glad he’d held both twins by a hand each. The crowd was enormous around them.

“Think it’s time to head back,” Bucky said, still holding Kevin in his arms.

Steve nodded and offered Doug’s hand to Clint, who took the boy readily enough. Then the taller blond swung sleepy TJ into his arms, laughing as the boy chatted wildly about what they’d just experienced. He nodded, “let’s go, guys. Tomorrow is the Animal Kingdom.”

Only minutes after Steve picked him up, TJ fell fast asleep, exhausted from the long day.

Softly, as they boarded the bus, Steve asked, “so, Ava, how was your first day in Disney World ever?” He knew Bucky had never been able to afford to splurge on the girl like he’d always wanted, so this was as much for Bucky as Ava and the others.

Looking tired but very happy, Ava smiled at Steve, “it was amazing! Thank you, Steve.”  
Shaking his head, Steve said, “it was Bucky’s idea, princess. I just had some money enough to make the dream come true.” He grinned wider. “In fact, your Bucky made all the plans and had all the ideas for where to go and what to do.”

Turning her smile on Bucky, Ava said, “thank you, Uncle Bucky!”

Smiling softly, Bucky said, “you’re welcome, Squirt.”

Daniel surprisingly yawned and nodded. “Thanks Bucky and Steve. This is great! Almost as great as when I got adopted!”

Clint grinned as he swung Doug into his arms. “Hear that, Nat? We rank above Star Wars in Disney.”

“Good,” Natasha laughed, giving her adopted son a smile.

“Hey, nothing beats getting the greatest parents ever,” Daniel said, grinning back. “Even Yoda.”

The group got back to their suite and soon the kids had their faces washed of paint, though Steve said they could shower in the morning, had been stuffed into pajamas, and had been tucked into bed. Daniel went willingly enough, intent on getting up early so they could try to get the extra hour in the park dedicated to those staying in the Disney hotels only. Clint took Natasha off to their room for a joint shower and cuddle before bed, which even he was ready for. Steve gave Ava a hug as she hurried off.

Alone in the big living room of the suite, Steve smiled at his husband. “So far it’s been great, huh?” he asked, sorting through gift bags that had been dropped off, arranging each child’s stuff into one bag a piece, instead of leaving it mixed. He even had a bag set aside for the Barton adults, and one for him and Bucky.

“Yeah,” Bucky nodded, yawning, “it’s been amazing. And it’s only the first day.” After Steve had finished sorting, they made their way into their own bedroom. Once behind the closed door, Bucky pulled off his shirt and began working on the buckles and straps to remove his mechanical arm.

Steve grabbed the aloe and a herbal rub that would help ease Bucky’s shoulder and torso. He helped Bucky finish removing the arm then started the nightly rub down and massage. “No seizures today, either,” he commented softly.

Groaning softly as Steve rubbed the sore muscles in his shoulder, Bucky nodded, “yeah, it’s great.” That day had been the longest he’d worn the prosthetic arm since he’d gotten it.

“You know, baby, Kevin’s not gonna run off. If you need to go without the arm sometimes, we can do that.” Steve leaned over to gently kiss the stump, right over the largest scar. “My beautiful husband.”

Nodding, Bucky said, “might skip it tomorrow. I don’t want to rub the skin raw. Did that once, don’t want to do it again.”

“Yeah. I won’t let that happen, Buck. Kevin was pretty shook up about missing out on Star Tours,” he sighed. “A lot more rides and shows use special lighting effects than I thought. This isn’t really a place meant for epileptics.”

Sighing, Bucky nodded, “yeah . . . but, a lot of places aren’t. Even movies now use a lot of lighting that could trigger a seizure.”

“It’s grand for the rest of us, but Kevin and others like him have a tough choice: risk getting seriously ill or miss out on the fun. At least he didn’t seize from the Star Wars show, even though it had the lighting effects, too.” Steve moved to massaging his husband’s back.

Groaning again, Bucky nodded, “yeah . . . that’s good.” It seemed like Bucky was just as tired as everyone else from their long day.

Smiling, having no plans to make Bucky participate in vigorous exercise, even sex, for the next couple of days while they were so run ragged, Steve continued his soothing massage. He guided his husband to the king sized bed they’d gotten awarded by the group decision. “Whirlpool tomorrow night, Buck,” he promised. “And if we want, part of that Magic Kingdom day can be used shopping for Christmas instead? We can grab the kids at breakfast tomorrow, give them each a tablet, and have them do some listing from what the stores carry. Then I can online order what we can, and any make-it-yourself, we can all go to Disney Springs to do . . . as well as the Lego Store?”

“Sounds great,” Bucky agreed, “we have a few of Kevin’s and Ava’s presents but nothing for TJ and Doug,” the brunet yawned again.

“Exactly. And those kids need some presents. Elaine said just buy what's on their lists. Nothing special from their parents?” Steve sighed.

“From what I understand, TJ and Doug have spent most their time either with a nanny or their Nana,” Bucky explained, sighing himself, “I doubt Elaine and Bud really even know their own kids.”

“Well, the twins are gonna get a great Christmas this year, one they’ll never forget!” Steve promised. “And while the kids are eating and filling in their lists, I’ll set up the tree and string the lights and garland.” Steve kissed Bucky. “Night, the light of my heart,” he whispered.

“Night, you big ol’ sap,” Bucky murmured, smiling softly.

**************

Oddly enough, Kevin woke up first the next morning. This time, instead of waiting to pounce Daniel, he climbed carefully off the bed and headed into the room shared by the twins, dragging Chester with him. He climbed up onto their bed, using the step stool provided in each of the rooms, and put Chester right next to Luna and Bobbi, Doug’s elephant. Snuggling down with the other boys his age, Kevin sighed and went back to sleep.

A few minutes later, TJ woke up in the middle of Doug and Kevin. Blinking awake, hair sticking up wildly, TJ looked at Kevin and then Doug. Rubbing his eyes, TJ shimmied out of the covers and crawled off the bed. He took a shower and got changed for the day, running the comb through his hair and wincing when it caught on a particularly bad tangle, “dang it,” he murmured softly, trying to free the comb.

As if called by some silent cue, Steve stepped to the bathroom door and asked, “everything okay in there?” He’d been looking for Kevin and followed the little boy’s trail to the twins.

“Comb’s stuck,” TJ called back.

Nodding, Steve let himself in the bathroom and walked over. He eased the comb gently from TJ’s tangled curls. Smiling, Steve asked, “ever heard of a magic solution called _creme rinse_? You wash your hair, put in the creme rinse, comb, then rinse out. It’s Bucky’s secret weapon.”

Blinking, TJ looked up at Steve, “and it makes the tangles go away?”

“It makes the tangles slippery so the comb can make them go away without getting caught,” Steve confirmed.

“Momma just brushes them out, it hurts a lot sometimes,” TJ reported.

“I remember you saying as much, TJ. That’s why I’m giving you a second choice to try.” He walked to the door of the bathroom. “Wanna come to my room and get the creme rinse? After your done your hair and stuff, we’re gonna fill out our Santa lists while eating breakfast.”

“But, it’s almost Christmas Eve, Steve,” TJ said, following the blond out of his bathroom, “Santa’s not gonna get Doug and I’s lists in time.”

“Like we said earlier about the letter to tell Santa where to go? Well, we can e-mail the list, too. Santa’s still packing that big sleigh. He won’t skip you guys if we can get the letters to him this morning.”

“We talking to Santa?” Doug asked, rubbing his eyes and sitting up. He scrambled out of bed and after the other pair, leaving Kevin alone in the queen sized bed.

“Steve?” TJ asked, “did Momma and Daddy leave Doug and I with you and Cousin Bucky because we were naughty?”

Grinning widely, Steve happily said, “nope. They want some Momma and Daddy time alone. So they picked the cousins with the best Christmas plans, which was us, and dropped you off to have fun. Do you really think you’d be going to Disney World if you’d been naughty?” Steve winked at TJ.

Shrugging one shoulder, TJ scuffed the toe of his sneaker on the floor, “I dunno. We’ve always been with Momma and Daddy for Christmas.”

Nodding, Steve led the twins into his bathroom so he could get the creme rinse for TJ. “TJ, Doug, you know that your Daddy is going to be leader of the whole country next month, right?”

“Yeah,” TJ sighed heavily.

“Yes, President Hammond,” Doug answered.

“And that means that there will be guards everywhere and cameras and you won’t be able to do as much without having to be watched every second, right?” Steve asked, noting TJ’s small shudder at the word camera. He pushed Bucky’s hip on the way past, back to TJ’s room, making the older brunet grunt softly and blink awake.

“I don’t want that,” TJ scrunched his nose.

“Well, I wouldn’t want it either, but none of us gets that choice. That was up to the country, and they chose it. So, as a public duty, you have to go through it.” Steve patted the sink. “Doug, get TJ the step stool? TJ, take off your shirt.”

“Can I just live with you and Cousin Bucky?” TJ asked, pulling off his shirt.

“If your parents agree, I’m sure Bucky and I would adore having you both, TJ. But right now, they want you both, because they love you very much, even if they are busy trying to help the country. So, starting next month, a Disney trip isn’t really possible, is it? So, you get a trip, to be normal kids for a few weeks, for Christmas. I know you’re not with your parents, but I think that was a pretty nice gift they gave you, wasn’t it? The chance to be normal kids for a bit and have fun?” Steve tried so hard to put a good spin on the situation. He opened the creme rinse and started the water, making sure it was warm but not too hot.

“I guess,” TJ nodded, “I still wish Momma and Daddy coulda come with us.”

Nodding, Steve said, “that would have been fun. Hey, while we’re eating lunch today, why don’t you write down some things for me. I’d like you to write, and you can use the tablet, what lightsaber you think your parents would have made? What t-shirts they would wear?”

“Momma doesn’t wear t-shirts, she always wears fancy clothes,” TJ stated.

Laughing, helping TJ onto the stool, Steve said, “oh, she would here. In Disney it’s almost the rule to wear t-shirts!” He grinned. “Get Doug to help with the list of what you think your parents would be doing if they’re here. We can send it to them tonight by e-mail. You know, you can e-mail them any time, right? Ready to begin washing?”

“Yeah,” TJ nodded.

Steve carefully washed the creme rinse into TJ’s tight curls, helping them ease and slide. Then, standing the boy up, he carefully, easily for the most part, pulled the comb through the curls. Releasing all the tangles, Steve helped TJ rinse his hair clean once more. He handed the boy a towel. “Better? Now you can use the comb again and there’s no tangles.”

“Yeah,” TJ grinned happily, taking the towel, “thanks, Steve!”

“Any time, TJ. Come to me for anything, big or small, and I’ll see what I can do,” Steve promised easily. He dried himself up and said, “dress and breakfast. Tell Doug the plan for the lists this morning. I’ll get the others up.” He walked over to Kevin and tickled his son awake, to much giggles and kisses.

Everyone was soon up and ready for the day, excited for their next day at the park.

While the kids ate and each tapped on of the tablets belonging to an adult, Daniel the only one declining as he'd already given his Disney want list to his parents three weeks before, Steve set the tree, lights, and garland up, snacking from granola bars and a big glass of milk. Clint helped Doug with his list, making sure he tapped the right buttons in the _My Disney Adventure_ app. Steve kept looking over to make sure Ava did well, while it was Natasha’s turn to interact with adventurous TJ. Kevin sat on Bucky’s lap, tapping and eating and being careful not to shift Bucky so the adult got food too; the little boy had noticed how his second father had left off the arm that morning.

Doug looked over at TJ. “Teej, they have a stuffed wolf bigger than Luna! Look!” He got up and leaned over to show TJ the picture of the three foot stuffed wolf.

Eyes widening, TJ blinked in pure shock at the size of the wolf, “it’s bigger than me!”

Looking over at Nat and Clint and Bucky, Doug asked, “what’s Santa’s money limit this year, please?”

Natasha looked at her husband, actually speechless for the first time. Bucky looked just as caught off guard by the question.

Steve looked over and grinned wide. “This year, Santa didn’t tell us adults. But he did say mark _anything_ you want and he’ll see what he can do to get a few things off the list to surprise you. Okay? So, if you want a three foot stuffed wolf, mark it. We’ll see if Santa has room in the sleigh for it.”

Grinning in excitement, TJ nodded and marked the wolf for his list.

Clint whispered to Nat, before Doug could come back and hear, “even if Steve didn’t have the money, _I’d_ find a way to get that wolf for the poor kid!”

Natasha nodded her agreement, her attention once more taken by TJ as he began going through the app, talking a mile a minute.

Kevin happily marked item after item, even stuff he couldn’t possibly use or fit. He seemed quite pleased to mark whatever seemed to take his fancy. “And this . . . and this . . . and this . . .” he said to himself in his soft, cheery voice.

After breakfast had ended, Steve walked over and collected the tablets, making sure each kid had put his or her name on their lists. He nodded, and handed the adults back their own tablets. “Nat, that’s got Ava’s ist. Make sure Santa gets it,” he winked at Ava. “Clint’s got Doug’s list. I’ve got TJ’s, and Bucky, if you can wrestle your tablet from Kevin, you’ve got his list. I’d say Santa needs five sleighs for his!”

Bucky laughed and nodded, easing the tablet from Kevin’s hands.

Things marked off included stuff like razor sets, women’s clothing, even a nice necklace of gold and silver twined. Kevin grinned up at Bucky. “So Santa doesn’t forget anyone! I marked for everybody!”

“You sure did,” Bucky laughed, looking at the marked items, “that was very nice of you, Kevin.”

“Thanks, Papa. I know you’d have marked it if you had your tablet and other hand.” He leaned into Bucky and smiled happily. “Cause you’re the nicest man I know, Papa.”

“Well, thanks, Tiger,” Bucky grinned, dropping a kiss on the top of Kevin’s head.

“So, I was thinking,” Steve handed out the day’s maps, “same buddies? And we’re going to the Animal Kingdom today, so it’s a lot of walking. Do you need a scooter, Kevin?”

Kevin looked thoughtful. “You’re saying I’ll get tired and Papa might not be able to carry me, since he’s too tired to wear his arm today, even?”

“Exactly right, Kevin,” Steve smiled.

“Can I get a scooter later if I get tired? I don’t think we need one the _whole_ day,” Kevin said.

Doug asked, “does Kevin have a bad heart, too?”

“Nope,” Kevin answered. “I have epilepsy and if I get too excited I can have seizures. So, I get to rest a lot.”

“Oh,” TJ nodded, “like how when Nana gets excited and - -” TJ frowned when Doug cut in.

“. . . she has to sit down cause she gets dizzy,” Doug finished his twin’s sentence.

Shaking his head, TJ said, “ _no_ , she drinks that stuff that smells gross.”

“Well, now you know why Kevin might want a scooter later,” Steve smiled, trying to change the subject and not have to address whatever mystery illness Nana had. “We’ll be walking tours and riding safaris and going to a real petting zoo!” Steve pointed out on the map the places he referred to. “And there's a show called _Flights of Wonder_ which has real birds from around the world!”

“Will there be wolves?” TJ asked, looking excited. “I like wolves.”

“I don’t know. Bucky, ever hear of wolves in Disney’s Animal Kingdom?” Steve asked, quickly thumbing through his app for the answer while he stalled.

“Hmm,” Bucky drawled thoughtfully, knowing that Steve was looking for the information, “not sure . . . maybe? I’m sure there are animals _like_ wolves . . .”

Steve sighed when he found the answer. “No wolves. I guess they didn’t want to be bothered by a bunch of kids staring at them. Wolves are kind of private animals.” He looked up. “There’s a butterfly room.”

“Flutterbys?” Kevin drew in an excited breath. “And kids that have seizures can go see them?” he sounded so hopeful.

“Yup, no special lights,” Steve answered happily.

“Bugs freak me out,” TJ commented, “can I sit that one out?”

Nodding, Steve said, “why don’t we do this? We’ll trade buddies for the butterfly time and you two can go with Clint and Nat to Dino-land with Ava and Daniel? We’ll meet for lunch after at the _Flame Tree Barbeque_?” He’d wanted to take the kids to _Yak and Yeti_ , a very unusual experience for them for food, but settled on a place between the dinosaur stuff and the butterflies.

“And I don’t gotta see any bugs?” TJ asked, looking at Natasha and Clint.

Clint grinned. “I promise. You don’t have to see the bugs. Ava, you want to keep TJ by the hand so he doesn't wander into bugs while we go through the trails to get to Dino-land?”

“Sure,” Ava agreed, smiling at TJ, “I don’t like bugs, either. They scare me.”

Doug nodded. “I don’t like snakes and stuff. Can we skip those?”

Clint agreed readily, “sure. We can skip any creepy crawlies no one wants. Those of us who do, can go to those rooms. You know, they have them in separate rooms so people can skip them?”

“That’s real smart,” TJ said.

“Same with the bats on the Tiger Trek, they’re in a separate room, too.” Clint commented absently, busy marking their swaps on his tablet so he wouldn’t forget he was helping watch the twins _and_ the teens. He actually thought it was good for Steve and Bucky to have some quiet time together, and Kevin wouldn’t be a problem.

“Papa?” Kevin looked up at Bucky as the man helped put the band on Kevin’s tiny wrist, “will _you_ see the flutterbys with Dad and me?”

“Sure,” Bucky agreed with a smile, “I’m okay with bugs.”

The plans settled, Steve nodded, made sure everyone had their bands and other necessities, including the man purse Bucky carried with Kevin’s and his own meds. Steve had his in a fanny pack on his hip. They managed to catch the early bus and made it to the early park hour set aside for guest staying in the hotels, meaning that limited people would be vying for stuff like _Pandora_ or _Mount Everest_ so far. Steve suggested they start at _Pandora_ and work their way back towards the front, by way of _Rafiki’s Planet Watch_. Thus beating the large crowds.

The Animal Kingdom’s sights seemed to catch TJ’s attention more than the previous day’s park. The boy obviously loved animals and was constantly wandering to look at one thing or another. Fortunately, one of the adults kept a tight hold on him unless watching him carefully, since they’d all seen his penchant for wandering. Steve was most often calling TJ back to attention, gently and in a friendly manner, suggesting he share his discoveries with the others.

At one point when TJ wandered ahead on the track to look at the tiger section, he felt a small hand clasp his and Kevin said, “I like tigers, too.”

Grinning brightly, TJ nodded, “I like ‘em, but not as much as wolves. But, since there are no wolves here, I wanna see the tigers.”

Nodding, Kevin held still, not letting TJ walk ahead. “Dad was really excited to see the tigers, too. Wanna wait for him?” He might look like a poor grown five, but Kevin was a very smart seven year old.

“Oh . . .” TJ looked back at his party several steps back, “okay . . .”

Kevin grinned, holding TJ’s hand. Softly he asked, “why do you like wolves so much?”

Looking back at Kevin, TJ said, “they howl really pretty and they stay in packs, like a real family, they love each other. Sometimes I wish my family stayed in a pack like wolves. Have you ever heard a wolf howl?”

“On TV,” Kevin nodded. “I’m glad my family didn’t stay in a pack. I don’t think my real Momma could take care of me. She didn’t want a baby and let me get sold. And the next Mama didn’t want me, she wanted money, so kept renting me out. But then Dad and Papa found me. So I’m happy I’m with them now.”

“Oh . . .” TJ said, not quite understanding what Kevin was telling him. “Okay.”

Kevin looked up at TJ. “Sometimes you gotta find the right family before you can be a pack.”

“I guess,” TJ nodded and looked up at the adults as they approached.

Steve smiled down at TJ and Kevin. “Tigers next, right?” He held the animal spotting chart that was on loan for people on the trail.

“Yeah,” TJ nodded in agreement.

Before the group split up, they saw the bird show Steve had mentioned. Sitting on long benches, watching huge and little birds get displayed and do tricks, the kids babbled and clapped with everyone else. Then a trainer brought out a bald eagle, displaying the huge, beautiful bird, symbol of the country. Steve wasn’t even aware of the tears on his face as the woman announced that bald eagles had been shifted from the endangered list to the protected list.

Bucky reached over and gently squeezed his husband’s hand.

“We’re doing it, Buck. People together are managing to save them. And we can save other animals, too.” He smiled so happily.

“We can,” Bucky agreed with a smile to match.

“And we can save wolves and tigers and gorillas . . .” he began listing all the protected and endangered animals the group had been seeing all morning, except of course the wolves which weren’t at the park but were still endangered.

“That’s Dad’s birthday bird,” Kevin pointed to the eagle. “They’re born on the same day. July four. It’s the country’s birthday, too.”

“Cool,” TJ commented.

Steve beamed down at TJ and Doug, who sat in awe staring at the eagle that was bigger than the trainer’s torso. “So, now the show’s over, you guys ready to travel back in time and see the dinosaurs?” He wiped at the tears he suddenly realized were on his face.

“No bugs, right?” TJ asked, scrambling to stand back up. “Weren’t there _big_ bugs when the dinosaurs were alive?”

“Yeah, but they probably won’t be alive now,” Steve answered. “Natasha and Clint will take good care of you. Just don’t wander or you might forget to come back to the present.” He scooped up Kevin in his arms and waved to the others. “See ya at the barbeque in a couple hours, guys!”

Bucky waved to the others as well before following his husband.

“Breathing room,” Steve grinned at Bucky, settling Kevin on his shoulders. “They’re such great little boys, aren’t they? I hope things work out for their parents so they can all get back together again.”

Letting out a breath of relief, Bucky nodded, looking over at Steve, “yeah, me too. Nearly broke my heart when Doug asked about the money limit.” Bucky looked up at Kevin and gave the boy a smile.

Nodding, Kevin said, “I bet their parents can’t afford much all the time so they put a limit on what can be added to their list. Right?” Kevin surprised them when he spoke sometimes, and none of them had realized the little boy understood that Santa was a way for parents to keep fantasy going for their kids.

Giving Kevin another smile, Bucky nodded, “right,” he didn’t want to tell the boy that the Hammonds were in no way poor, that Elaine and Bud could afford to get TJ and Doug whatever they wanted. Bucky understood that it may not be possible to get kids _everything_ on their lists but to make them money conscious at such a young age?

“Are we gonna play Santa for them this year and get them stuff bigger or more money than their list?” Kevin sounded excited.

Steve nodded. “Don’t tell, but I guarantee there’s going to be a three foot big brother or sister for Luna under our tree on Christmas morning. And Elaine’s not going to be the one who pays for it, so if she gets upset, she can’t take it away.” He sounded determined not to let the woman hold anything over her kids heads, though Steve had no idea if she really would.

Bucky nodded in agreement, “gotta keep it a secret, Kevin.”

Kevin nodded. “I can do that. TJ will be so happy when he sees his surprise. We need a big surprise for Doug, too.”

“What do you think we should surprise him with?” Bucky asked, smiling widely.

“Can we buy it tomorrow? Then we can watch him and figure out what he likes. I want it to be the _right_ surprise,” Kevin decided.

“That’s a very good idea, Tiger,” Bucky grinned at the seven year old.

“Hey, you saw those tigers, right, Papa! That boy tiger was so big! I thought he might jump on the glass and break it to get to us, but he just laid down and slept next to it.” Kevin sighed in delight.

“That’s because Tigers are just big cats, like Shadow,” Bucky explained, “and Shadow sleeps a _lot_ , right? Because cats are kinda lazy and like to sleep all day.”

Laughing, Kevin said, “I think Shadow and Pizza Dog are gonna have the bestest Christmas in the kennel.”


	3. Understanding Differences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **WARNINGS: anxiety, phobias, crying, sex**

Steve got pictures of butterflies landing on Kevin in various spots, big or little, bright or dull, they all seemed to like the sweet little boy. Once through the butterfly area, Kevin said softly. “Can I get a scooter now? My head hurts and I think I saw spots before we left there.”

Nodding, Steve left the pair at the barbeque while he hurried off to guest relations to rent a large covered stroller. He came back with it at the same time the rest of the group arrived, finding Kevin curled up on the bench by Bucky, head on his Papa’s lap, eyes closed. Steve frowned softly, “resting or a seizure?” he asked.

Bucky smiled at Steve, running his fingers through Kevin’s hair, “jus’ resting.”

“Jus’ resting,” Kevin repeated softly, keeping his eyes closed.

With a nod, Steve smiled at the others. “How was the past?” he asked.

“Very interesting,” Natasha reported with a smile.

“They had real life T-Rex bones!” TJ stated.

Doug practically vibrated, finally displaying the same level of enthusiasm his twin often did. “And we went on a science trip to rescue a dinosaur from the comet, and got the wrong one! It was a big bad scary dinosaur! We’ve got pictures in our bands so you can see!”

Clint grinned, “yup, got the traditional surprise shot from the ride, just like agreed.” He referred to the souvenir shot offered at most thrill rides at the park.

“And I didn’t have to look perfect,” TJ grinned up at Steve.

“Well, hard to look perfect when you’re almost eaten by a big mean dinosaur,” Steve laughed. “Speaking of eating, who wants to eat barbeque and who wants to find a different spot?” He hoped the kids would want to avoid the messy food.

“I don’t think I really like barbeque . . . always tastes burnt,” TJ commented.

Laughing, Clint said, “always made wrong then. But I think burgers, chicken, fries?”

“Like _french fries_?” TJ asked, eyes wide, “Momma never lets us have french fries. She always makes up get fruit.”

Steve, glad to be completely honest with the twins for once, reported, “she said get you whatever you want, so french fries if you want.”

“I want french fries!” TJ exclaimed with excitement.

“I want apples and french fries,” Doug said, causing Clint to laugh.

Bucky nodded, “burgers and fries sound good to me.”

“Me too,” Ava agreed.

Steve looked relieved to avoid messy sauce on hands and faces and shirts. He led the group to the closest burger place on the map and got them all situated, taking their orders for them and going up to get the food, leaving the other three adults to wrangle kids. As a bonus, he took TJ with him to help carry the trays, allowing Doug to tag along because he seemed shocked at the idea of being split from his twin.

Kevin looked at the others then Bucky. “Can I tell them the secret, Papa?”

“Yeah, just make sure TJ and Doug don’t hear,” Bucky smiled.

Nodding, Kevin, already naturally quiet, lowered his voice to almost inaudible. “We’re gonna be Santa for them this year. We’re gonna get TJ the wolf he likes. Now we need to find something special for Doug, too. And we’re not letting their parents pay for it.”

“He seemed really fascinated by the dinosaurs,” Natasha suggested softly.

“Okay,” Kevin agreed. “I wanna go to Disney stores tomorrow instead of doing Magic Kingdom. We’re gonna do that later anyway. There’s a Lego store and a huge toy store and everything!”

“I think we can manage that,” Bucky nodded, giving Kevin a smile.

Steve came back carrying the tray of drinks. Doug had the fries and TJ the burgers. Apple slices were with the drinks. Once they were all eating, Steve asked the others if they wanted to do the shopping area tomorrow in case they got last minute ideas to e-mail Santa.

Doug looked up. “The map says Magic Kingdom tomorrow.”

“I think we’re switchin’ days, Dougie,” TJ said.

Doug looked at TJ and frowned in worry, “But Clint said he wanted to meet Tinker Bell.”

“Tinker Bell will still be there when we go to Magic Kingdom later,” Natasha assured the boy.

“And he won’t get mad and say the trip was wasted ‘cause he didn’t get to meet the prettiest lady in town?” Doug asked.

“No, he most certainly will not,” Natasha said.

Steve sighed internally at the idea that Bud Hammond was such a womanizer he let it affect his son’s perception of life.

“Daddy likes the pretty ladies,” TJ said absently, munching on fries between his words.

Clint nodded, “well, there’s none as pretty as my Natasha.”

“Okay,” TJ agreed readily, still eating his food.

Daniel looked around then leaned in to the group as if telling a secret. “Chip and Dale are here.”

TJ looked around but couldn’t spot the characters.

Doug looked up and squeaked. “Uh . . . right behind you, Teej!” he breathed in awe at the man-sized chipmunks.

Slowly, TJ turned around and looked up, eyes wide though he didn’t look as excited to meet the large chipmunks as Doug seemed to be. Blinking, TJ moved away from the characters, closer to Clint.

Clint leaned over, ‘bigger than I thought.”

Nodding, not saying anything, TJ stayed away from the characters as the other kids seemed to be flocking towards them.

Doug looked at the others. “Can I go, too, please?”

Steve nodded and took Doug’s hand. “Anyone else?”

“Kevin?” Bucky looked at the small boy.

Nodding, Kevin looked over. “Yeah, I can do that. TJ, want me to get your book signed for you?” the smaller, relatively fearless boy offered.

Looking at Kevin, TJ flushed and shook his head, his eyes falling to the ground.

Kevin patted TJ’s leg. “You don’t have to go over, TJ. I’ll do it. I’m not afraid of them. And when I’m afraid, you can get a sign for me, okay?”

Flushing even brighter, TJ shook his head again.

“TJ doesn’t like Chip and Dale,” Doug said. “They scare him cause they’re just like mice.”

Kevin studied TJ and nodded. “Papa, they’ll be in other places, right?”

“Shudup,” TJ murmured softly, obviously very embarrassed but unable to overcome his fear of the masked characters.

Steve sighed, knowing a fight would be inevitable with five kids. “Yeah, we’ll see them all over.”

“Okay. I’ll see them later. I wanna sit with TJ and look at his list. Can I see his list and he can see mine?” Kevin looked at his parents. Steve smiled and handed over his tablet containing TJ’s list.

“We’ll be back soon, guys. Save some dessert for me.” Steve led Daniel and Doug off, glancing over at Ava to see if she’d join them.

Ava stayed at the table, not really interested in meeting the chipmunks. She gave a smile and wave to her adoptive father.

Softly, Clint said, “what makes them so creepy, I think, is those really big fake heads. Knowing that some actor Mickey hired is in there. After all, the real chipmunks would get stepped on if they came out here with all the people.”

Still looking embarrassed, TJ played with the hem of his shirt and shrugged, scuffing his shoe against the floor.

Kevin ducked down to get a look at TJ’s face. “What's wrong, TJ? Everybody gets scared of something. It’s okay.”

TJ scrunched his nose and ducked his head to the other side, avoiding Kevin’s eyes.

Bucky leaned over and rubbed Kevin’s back, pulling him away gently to give the embarrassed boy some space.

Nodding, Clint sighed. Without saying anything, he reached over and picked up TJ, turning the boy so he faced Clint. He lay TJ’s head on his shoulder and whispered in his ear, “if you cry, I won’t tell. Promise, big guy. And when you get back to the room, you can tell Luna about it.”

Letting out a shuddering breath, TJ shook his head again though he clung tightly to Clint. “Not gonna cry, not a baby,” TJ murmured against Clint’s shoulder.

“Didn’t say you would, but I wouldn’t say it if you did,” Clint nodded, petting TJ’s curls gently, rocking him just as gently.

The sounds of at least two kids crying could be heard, but Clint kept TJ looking the other way, unless the boy wanted to look. Kevin sighed. “I guess they can be scary.” He picked up a french fry and began eating again.

“What sucks,” Clint said louder than the whisper he’d used with TJ, “is when their parents try to force them to meet someone they don’t want. I mean, it’s the kid’s vacation, why force them?”

TJ nodded and let out another breath, his shoulders shaking with silent tears as he clutched tightly at Clint. It was very obvious that TJ was trying hard to keep himself together, embarrassed but terrified nonetheless.

Clint stood, lifting TJ in his arms easily. “Gotta go for a walk, guys. Gonna kidnap this guy as my buddy. We’ll be back in ten. Don’t eat all my burger.” He carried TJ off to a small area where nobody really was, nowhere near the characters. Instead, Clint sat down on the walkway border. Slowly, still rocking TJ, leaning close to whisper, Clint asked, “you afraid of mice or just those big versions?”

Sniffling, wiping at his eyes furiously, trying to hide the evidence of his tears, TJ said, “both? Mice are kinda scary but I really don’t like the masked guys.”

“Yeah, masks can hide all kinds of expressions. Maybe the guy is having a bad day or making faces and sticking out his tongue, huh?” Clint asked. “TJ, if you move very, very slowly and look over to your left at the plants. There’s a chipmunk baby there. He’s not looking at you.”

Doing as instructed, moving slow and carefully, TJ looked at the real chipmunk in the plants, eating a seed, it’s back to them. Smiling softly, TJ said, “that one isn’t scary . . .”

"Nope, he's cute. But I think I'll let him have his lunch, right?” Clint smiled at TJ and used his sleeve to wipe the boys eyes and nose. “And now you can tell Doug you’ve seen a real chipmunk and your aren’t afraid of them after all, right?”

Nodding, TJ said, “yeah, not scared of _real_ chipmunks.”

Clint nodded. “Feeling a little better? More under control, TJ?” Clint smiled at the boy.

“Yeah . . . I . . . I was embarrassed because I’m a big boy and I don’t like the silly characters,” TJ admitted softly.

“Yeah, it’s really embarrassing when you lose control. I know I used to wet my bed until I was eight and boy was I embarrassed. Sometimes I’d get so scared at school, I’d pee my pants. The other kids teased. But in this family, for this vacation? None of us are gonna tease the others for being scared, right?” He glanced over; the chipmunk had left.

“And no one’s gonna force me to meet them and take pictures?” TJ asked softly.

“Did we do that just now?” Clint asked, smiling wide. “You don’t have to like everyone that Mickey Mouse likes or hires, TJ. And just because you don’t like the silly characters and are a big boy, you don’t have to be embarrassed. I like Tinker Bell because she has cute wings and a short skirt, but I don’t much like Snow White.”

“But . . . you aren’t _scared_ of Snow White,” TJ wiped at his eyes again, sniffling softly.

“Not anymore,” Clint agreed. “Used to be. Used to be scared of the fairy godmother, too.”

“Really?” TJ asked, looking at Clint.

Clint rounded his eyes wide. “Anyone that can wake up from the dead or change _pumpkins_ into big carriages? Yeah, those ladies are a bit creepy.”

Giggling softly, TJ nodded, “yeah, I guess they kinda are.”

“But . . .” Clint sighed, “you aren’t scared of them, are you? I’m the only one, aren’t I?” He looked a bit morose.

“Jus’ like I’m the only one scared of the masked guys,” TJ said, bumping his shoulder lightly with Clint’s.

“Not really,” Clint revealed, “Ava always avoids the masked characters. Even back home at theme parks closer to us, she won’t go near the ones in masks. And she’s thirteen.”

“Really?” TJ looked surprised, “I thought it was jus’ because she thought she was too old to meet some of the characters.”

“Hah, she’s younger than Daniel, but only by a few months, and that kid’ll meet anyone and everyone except Goofy. Goofy, he says, is just too tall to be real.” Clint smiled. “And you saw Steve cry, right? Right in front of everyone, he cried, and no one teased him.”

“But, big boys aren’t supposed to cry. Only babies cry,” TJ pointed out softly with a sigh.

“Well, I dare you to say that to Steve, then, because that’s the biggest boy I know, and he cried right there over that eagle for everyone to see.” Clint looked pleased by TJ’s interactions, knowing the kid felt a bit more secure if he was willing to argue.

Nodding, TJ looked around at the quiet place Clint had managed to find. “I like you guys . . . you guys don’t make Dougie and I dress all nice and act polite.”

Laughing, Clint said, “Well, on Christmas Day you’ll need to dress up and take pictures, but that’ll only last an hour. Then it’s back in pajamas if you want, with messy hair and lots of goodies and toys.” Clint touched his forehead to TJ’s. “I think your Momma and Daddy forgot how Christmas and kids should be handled. Hope they can remember.”

“Or I can live with you and Natasha,” TJ murmured softly.

“You don’t want to live with Steve and Bucky if you had to choose?” Clint asked, not making TJ ashamed for feeling that way. Every kid went through a phase where he wanted to live in a self-chosen paradise.

“I like Cousin Bucky and Steve, too,” TJ nodded, “they’re nice like you.”

“Tell you what. If your parents need you to move in with someone, we can talk about it, okay?” Clint offered, smiling.

“Promise?” TJ asked softly.

Touching foreheads again, Clint said, “I promise. If you and Dougie ever need a home, I can bet the four of us adults will all be willing to take you in. You’re such great kids.”

Smiling, TJ nodded, “thanks, Clint.”

Glancing over, Clint said, “looks like the others are done drooling over the men in masks. Wanna go back to join everyone. Promise you don’t look like you cried at all. Especially when you’re smiling and giggling,” Clint tickled TJ’s sides, grinning.

Wiping at his eyes once more just to be sure, TJ giggled as he was tickled, “yeah, we can go back. Thank you, Clint.”

Nodding, Clint stood and set TJ on his back, giving him a piggyback to the others. “Hey, how was the mice?”

Doug shook his head. “Not mice, chipmunks. And one of them goosed Steve.”

Laughing, Bucky looked at Steve, relieved that Clint had apparently gotten TJ to calm down. “Which one was it?” The brunet asked, still laughing softly.

“The one with the red nose,” Steve flushed. “I think the mask was in the way.”

Nodding, Clint said, “common problem for these actors. TJ met the real Chip.”

Doug’s eyes widened and he looked at his twin in awe. “You did? Not just someone in a mask?”

“Uh huh,” TJ smiled at Doug, still clinging onto Clint’s back, “and I wasn’t scared at all!”

“Was it . . . cute?” Doug asked, looking hopeful and a little jealous that his brother got to meet a _real live_ chipmunk.

“Yup,” TJ grinned, popping the _‘p,’_ “was eating a seed! I saw it.”

“Wow!” Doug looked impressed. “And not even a little scared?” Doug practically whispered, “cause the bigs ones were . . . kinda scary.”

“The real one didn’t scare me at all, ask Clint, he was there,” TJ reported proudly.

“Yeah, sat right near it and not a squeak from either of them. I was quite impressed. And it was cuter then in the movies. All furry and with that racing stripe down it’s back.” Clint finally lowered TJ to the group, where Doug grabbed his hand almost desperately.

Bucky walked over to Steve and said in a low whisper, “Clint helped us avoid a breakdown. TJ was embarrassed and Kevin was tryin’ to help but ended up embarrassing him more.”

Nodding, Steve sighed, “seven years old isn’t always perceptive enough to recognize body language signs for what they are. I’m glad Clint helped. He’s got a knack with kids. It’s why he’s such a good foster father.” Steve looked around, counting kids and satisfyingly came up with five. “Kevin, your chariot awaits,” he said and helped Kevin get into the stroller. He knew that they’d be renting strollers the rest of vacation because none of them had thought of the lighting effects on Kevin. He hoped Kevin would avoid any seizures, but knew that wasn’t likely with so much stimuli.

“What are we doin’ next?” TJ asked, staying close to Clint for the time being.

“Well, we’ve hit all of the major spots except for going back through Africa. We skipped over that to get to Mount Everest in Asia,” Steve said. “There are gorillas and lions in Africa. Of course, if everyone wants to go somewhere else, we can do that. We’ve got several days and our park hoppers let us switch parks as often as we like.”

“I dunno,” TJ shrugged, “where does everyone else wanna go?”

Steve pulled out the tablet and sank to the ground by the stroller, showing the group the app. “We can do our shopping today if everyone would rather? And tomorrow do the other part of Animal Kingdom and more shopping or playing or something. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.”

“We can look at the shops for a bit and then if after people wanna come back, we can or we can finish up Animal Kingdom later?” Bucky suggested.

“Great idea,” Clint said. “Give Kevin a chance to rest, right?” He smiled down at the boy in the stroller.

Kevin clapped his hands. “Yes! Please? There’s a big Lego store there and I really wanna see it!”

Doug perked up and grabbed TJ’s hand tightly, “Legos? We play Legos.”

“Yeah, you’re a better builder than me,” TJ said, letting his slightly younger twin hold his hand, “you make buildings and stuff!”

“And you help me build really good, Teej,” Doug smiled brightly.

“Not really,” TJ laughed, swinging their hands in the air lightly, “I always put the wrong piece on top of your’s. You always gotta take ‘em off and restart.”

“That’s cause you need to look at the pictures better. It shows colors and everything, TJ,” Doug explained, grinning. He tugged TJ after the others in the group, absently smiling to Clint in the rear this time.

“But reading directions is so boring,” TJ exclaimed.

Doug laughed. “It’s not _reading_ , Teej! It’s looking at the picture and seeing which piece they drew and where they put it!”

Shrugging, TJ said, “I like to build my own stuff. Stuff not in the directions.”

“They call that a _Master Builder_ ,” Daniel commented, grabbing Doug’s other hand to start the chain from earlier again. He had figured out, much like the adults, that the chain worked best through the bigger crowds around the entrance and exit or the transportation.

Bucky stayed in the rear, like he’d done the entire trip, constantly scanning the crowds and making sure everyone was counted for.

Steve kept the group talking about favorite Disney cartoons, music, and other things, all the way to Disney Springs. Once they got off the shuttle, they’d had to go to the hotel first to get to the right shuttle, Steve said, “chain! There’s a huge crowd here and we don’t want to lose anyone. Who wants to push Kevin first?”

Counting heads again, Bucky frowned and counted again, looking around, he asked, “where’s TJ?”

Steve used his greater height to look around. “TJ!” he barked loudly.

TJ’s head snapped around, actually looking panicked; he hadn’t wandered away that time, actually having been separated with the large crowd.

Steve nodded, “Nat you’re closest, by the chocolate store. TJ! Stay there, lean on the building. Nat’s coming!”

Nodding, TJ backed himself up against the wall as his fingers thrummed against his thighs. Natasha weaved through the busy crowds and made it to the scared eight year old. From where Steve stood, he could see her crouch down to TJ’s level and tell him something. The boy nodded, releasing a deep breath, before taking Nat’s hand and letting her lead him back to the group.

Steve smiled. “You okay, TJ? No one hurt you?” he asked, not once yelling at the boy. He could see TJ was frightened enough on his own. Doug latched onto his twin with a whimper.

TJ shook his head, looking up at Steve with wide eyes, “there was a lot of people then I couldn’t see you guys anymore . . .”

Nodding, Steve stepped over and hugged the boy. “That must have been really scary, TJ. I’m sorry we got separated. Can we think of a way for that not to happen again, maybe? Any ideas?” He smiled down at the boy as he straightened up.

“Wasn’t wanderin’, I swear, Steve,” TJ said.

“TJ, you said you got separated by the crowd, and I believe you. I was wondering if there was a way we can stop that from happening again? I don’t want to lose any of you.” Steve took the boy’s hand, still smiling, no hint of anger or disappointment in his tones.

“I . . . I dunno? Maybe try an hold hands more?” TJ frowned softly.

Nodding, Steve said, “okay, would you like me to get a goofy hat with my name written on the back and front? Then I can wear it and be the tallest in the entire crowd?” Steve was willing to try anything.

Blinking, TJ looked surprised, “you’d do that? You’d look silly, Steve.”

“If it can keep me visible so all of you can always find me if we get separated? Yes, I’d even dress as a cow in a tutu if it helped, TJ. So, holding hands so we don’t accidentally wander, but a goofy hat with my name all over it so everyone can always spot me. Sound good?” Steve smiled and reached down to pick up TJ and put the boy on his shoulders, much like he would Kevin.

At first TJ seemed shocked, his own father never having put him or Doug on his shoulders, and then after a moment the boy relaxed and nodded, “yeah, that sounds good, Steve.”

“Everyone agreed?” He asked the others, happy to have come up with a good solution without making TJ feel guilty and bad for an accident.

Clint nodded. “Can we all get hats?”

Steve grinned. “Sure. And we’re at the right side. Let’s go to the place where we can make t-shirts, and hats, and stuff, okay?”

“You can _make_ t-shirts?” Ava asked, her brows raising in surprise. 

“You can pick your own colors, designs, words, everything,” Steve grinned at the girl. “And tomorrow we can pick up the finished shirts. The hat would be ready tonight, though, within minutes.”

“That’s awesome!” Ava grinned, looking at her best friend to begin chatting over designs for matching t-shirts. Daniel excitedly started planning on something with a bad guy on it, loving the movie _Descendants_.

Steve patted TJ’s leg. “Doin’ okay, Teej?” he asked as they walked to the store they wanted.

“I’m doin’ good, Steve,” TJ answered cheerfully, looking around the shop with wide eyes, “think I could get a shirt with a wolf on it?”

“If they’ve got wolves, sure. But I think they tend towards the Disney Characters here, TJ. Did you know that after Christmas we’ll be going to Universal Studios?” Steve carried the light boy easily, TJ getting to see everyone from such a long way up.

“What’s that?” TJ asked, looking down at Steve.

“Ever seen Harry Potter?” Steve asked.

“Yeah!” TJ answered excitedly, “Dougie likes those movies. He puts the DVD in all the time. I think he knows the words by heart! That, or he likes Hermione.”

Steve laughed, “who doesn’t? She’s so smart and nice. I’d love her for my friend.” Calling out to the others, Steve said, “anyone else like Hermione Granger?”

“No,” TJ giggled, flashing Doug a smile and then looking down at Steve, “I mean Dougie _like-likes_ Hermione.”

“Oh,” Steve said, nodding. “Well, she needs a good boyfriend, so why not Dougie?”

“See?” TJ laughed, looking at his twin, “told ya so!”

Doug flushed and ducked his head, muttering something. Steve smiled. “I think he’s shy. Let’s not tease him or he might feel bad, right?”

TJ nodded and dropped the subject, “can you put me down so I can look?”

“Sure.” Steve let TJ down to the ground and reminded gently, “grab a hand, Teej.”

“Can I grab Dougie’s?” TJ asked.

“Sure can. As long as someone grabs Doug’s or your other hand until I can get my new _tall_ hat.” Steve gave TJ a small encouraging push towards the rest of the group.

Nodding, TJ moved towards the rest of the group, grabbing Doug’s hand and then Clint’s.

Bucky came up beside Steve and murmured softly, “half thinking about gettin’ a leash,” the brunet didn’t sound angry or upset, mainly worried.

Nodding, Steve said, “I’ve seen them for strapping on the wrist, Bucky. And if we can suggest it delicately to TJ, he might voluntarily agree after that last scare.”

“He just wanders too much and the last one, even though it wasn’t his fault, he got pretty far away. It’s a miracle he and Doug haven’t been recognized yet.” Bucky kept his voice very low.

“People are looking for the parents to be with them, so no one’s really thinking they’d be here, without their family, at Christmas. It’s the reason they’ve been unrecognized so far. But I’m worried someone’s going to notice and try to use them.” Steve sighed. “Okay, I’ll see what TJ says, Buck. He might just agree.”

“And you realize how bad it’d look on Bud and Elaine for them to send their kids away for the holidays?” Bucky shook his head with a sigh, “yeah, and ask about the leash. That’ll be one less thing we gotta worry about.”

Nodding, Steve waited until the group got into the design stations and began making their shirts, picking ears to get embroidered, and other shopping tasks that involved personalization. Steve pulled out his tablet, stepping right up to where the twins designed shirts, and tapped on the app. He managed to get a reservation for nine for dinner, almost unheard of, at the famously always unavailable _T-Rex_ restaurant. “Boys, dinner’s at the _T-Rex_ ,” he showed them the app.

“Look, Dougie! More dinosaurs!” TJ pointed happily at the screen.

Doug looked impressed and said, “I like dinosaurs.” He looked up at Steve. “This is the best holiday ever!”

“Doug likes dinosaurs, Steve. Shoulda seen him when we saw the real T-Rex bones at the park!” TJ grinned brightly.

Bucky walked up behind Kevin and looked down at the shirt the boy designed, “woah, cool shirt, Kevin!”

Nodding, Kevin smiled proudly at the pink and grey t-shirt that said _‘Pirate Princess’_ on it. “The staff guy wanted me to put _Prince_ , but I told him no.”

“Well, you know what _you_ want more than he does, huh?” Bucky grinned, running his fingers through Kevin’s hair.

“Why does all the people here think I want to be a prince, Papa? I want to be a princess.” Kevin looked up at Bucky. “They get the pretty dresses.”

“Well,” Bucky drawled, giving Kevin a smile, “ _most_ boys, not all, want to be Princes. So, people tend to automatically think _all_ boys want to be Princes.”

“But Disney princes don’t wear pink, and I like pink,” Kevin said, hitting the button to receive the paper to order the shirt at the desk.

“Then you’ll keep gettin’ stuff with pink on it,” Bucky grinned, “there’s nothing wrong with a boy liking pink.”

“Do you like pink, Papa?” Kevin smiled happily.

“I do like pink, but, I don’t wear it very often. I like blues and reds and greys,” Bucky answered honestly, “but I think pink is a very pretty color.”

“I like light purple even better than pink,” Kevin said. “And light blue and light green. I like the colors in my pastel box Dad gave me for my birthday. They’re so light and pretty.” He turned suddenly and hugged Bucky.

Bucky hugged his adoptive son tightly, running his fingers through the boy’s hair, “you havin’ fun so far, Kevin?”

“Yeah, I like it here even if I can’t do lots of rides. I got a lot of signs from the princesses and stuff instead.” Kevin bounced lightly on his feet. “Can I look at hats and ears, Papa?”

“Of course,” Bucky nodded, “would you like a pair or Mickey ears with your name embroidered on it? The even have pink ones.”

“Can I get the pretty white ones with the lace?” he asked, pointing the the bride ears.

Smiling, Bucky nodded and pulled the ears off the shelf, handing them down to Kevin. “Try them on?” He offered.

Kevin put them on his head and giggled when the very large ears slid. There was none made for someone his small size. “Maybe when I’m bigger,” he said and handed them back, grinning.

Nodding, Bucky put them back on the shelf and looked at the displayed Mickey ears.

Kevin’s breath caught and he reached up, trying to stretch to get to a pair of pink ears with a long veil and the word _‘Princess’_ embroidered on it.

Smiling widely, Bucky grabbed the ears, finding one that looked small enough to fit Kevin and passed it down to the boy, “well?”

Kevin tried them on and looked up at Bucky, the elastic band holding the small hat in place. “Do I look pretty?” the platinum-haired, delicate child asked.

A woman nearby smiled. “You look lovely.” She smiled at Bucky. “Your daughter is very pretty.”

Bucky turned his smile on the woman and nodded, “my son is, isn’t he?”

Looking surprised, the woman chuckled, “well, at that age it doesn’t hurt to indulge them. Once they're old enough to go to school, the other kids set them straight.”

Kevin looked puzzled, his smile fading. “Set me straight?”

Bucky shook his head and said, “no, they won’t,” he looked at the woman, not necessarily glaring but not looking pleased either, “this lovely woman was just kidding.”

The woman nodded, walking away and not adding any more comments to the pair. She looked uncomfortable as she looked for her two little girls and tugged them into another section of the store.

Kevin sighed. “That’s the second grown up who is afraid of little boys being in pink.”

Sighing, Bucky crouched down to Kevin’s level and fixed the boy’s ears with a soft smile, “people don’t like others who they see as different. It’s not right, but, that’s how the world is. Seems kinda silly, huh? Since every single person is different from another.”

“Girls get to wear blue and black. And they get to wear pants. So what’s wrong with a boy in pink or a skirt, Papa?” Kevin looked worried, fiddling with the elastic at his neck.

“I don’t know, Kevin, I wish I had those answers for you, I really do. People get stuck in their ways and don’t like anyone who don’t conform to them,” Bucky offered another gentle smile to Kevin.

“Conform means be the same, right?” Kevin asked softly.

“Exactly, right,” Bucky nodded, “but, I want you to know that your Dad and I? We won’t ever make you be someone who you aren’t. You have the right to be _you_ , Kevin.”

Nodding, Kevin smiled and threw his arms around Bucky’s neck, accidentally bumping him with the ears. “I love you, Papa!”

Laughing softly, Bucky wrapped his arm around Kevin and held him close, “I love you, too, Tiger.”

“And TJ and Doug can be TJ and Doug, right? We’ll tell them, okay?” Kevin seemed happy and eager once more. He never stayed down for long.

“You bet,” Bucky grinned. He tapped one of the ears gently with one finger and said, “do you want to get your name on this, Kevin?”

“Yes, right under the title. So I can be Princess Kevin!” Kevin said with all certainty. He took his Papa’s hand and tugged him towards the others. “I got my shirt ticket, too, so I can give it to the t-shirt guy.”

“Great,” Bucky said, letting Kevin lead him around, “that way we can get everything all ordered.”

TJ had his own order paper and bounced from one foot to the other, looking excited and happy, seeing Kevin’s ears, TJ grinned more, “cool ears, Kevin!”

“I’m gonna get my name on it, too. You wanna look at ears, TJ? Papa’s good at helping look for the perfect ears!”

“Nah, I don’t like hats very much,” TJ answered, “and the elastic band looks kinda itchy. Dougie?” he looked at his twin, “wanna look at hats?”

“Nope, I wanna look at those,” he gestured to the charm bracelet station. The kids, or adults of course, could put together their own groups of charms and pay for them at the counter.

“How cool!” TJ grinned, walking towards the station, “we could get matching bracelets, Dougie!”

“Yeah!” Doug began helping search for charms they both liked.

After nearly a half hour, TJ and Doug had made matching charm bracelets, “these are so cool, Dougie!”

Doug grinned and hugged TJ. “I love them!”

Kevin clapped his hands in delight. “Ava! Daniel! We can make bracelets, too!”

“Sure,” Ava agreed, walking over to the station with Kevin.

After nearly another half hour, the three kids had another set of matching bracelets for themselves.

Bucky looked at Steve and smiled, “find your hat, Steve?”

Steve presented the goofy hat he’d had embroidered with his name back and front. Putting it on, he winked at Bucky and whispered, “go over there and ask if anyone has seen where I am.”

Nodding, Bucky did as he was told and walked over to the others, asking, “anyone seen Steve?”

Doug looked up and frowned, shaking his head. He began to look around. Kevin covered his mouth with both hands, having spotted his Dad immediately.

TJ looked around as well and his eyes widened, “there, Bucky! In the big hat!” He pointed right at Steve.

Bucky turned and looked relieved, “thank God, you found him!”

Steve walked over, “hey guys, this will work?” He grinned at TJ.

“Yeah, I spotted you right away, Steve!” TJ said with a wide smile, “that way if I wander or get separated again, I can find you quick!”

“Good, it’ll work.” He knelt down and hugged TJ then Doug then Kevin. “We had another idea that might help you not get separated,” Steve didn’t refer to the wandering. “There’s a wrist cuff you can wear and one of us wears one, and there's a strap between the two. That way we don’t get separated. What do you think?”

TJ tilted his head and looked thoughtful, “that way a big crowd can’t push me away again?”

“Exactly,” Steve said. “Think it’ll work?”

“I think so, I don’t wanna get lost again, that was scary,” TJ admitted.

Nodding, Steve said, “I don’t want you to be insulted when we get it, TJ. It’s gonna say on the package that it’s a leash, okay? But it’s not because you’re bad and wander away all the time. You've been real good about that. It’s because the crowd got in between and everyone got scared, you, me, Bucky, everyone. Okay?” Steve smiled encouragingly up at the boy.

“Okay, Steve,” TJ agreed, not looking embarrassed or upset.

“Good boy, TJ.” He stood and took the boy’s hand. “Okay, let’s turn in our shirt slips and pay for ears, bracelets, and drawing supplies. Or did you guys miss the drawing stuff over there?” Steve gestured to the coloring books, art lessons, and other art supplies. They were in the art building after all.

“No, we already looked over there,” TJ answered, handing his slip to Steve.

“I didn’t,” said a very small voice, almost in a whisper.

Picking up his son, Steve said, “well, I’d like to see that stuff, Kevin. Let’s go. Ava? You like art. Wanna come with us?”

“Sure,” Ava nodded, following Steve and Kevin.

The trio began perusing the art supplies and Kevin said, “this one teaches you to draw animals, Dad! I want this one!”

Ava looked at the book in Kevin’s hands and nodded, “that’s really cool, Kevin. Says it’s gonna teach you to draw a cat, even.”

“And a wolf,” Kevin nodded. He started looking at pencils and coloring objects.

Steve glanced over at the twins near Bucky. He mouthed the word _‘music?’_ to the other man.

Shrugging, Bucky looked down at the twins and then remember TJ saying something about his Nana teaching him how to play piano. “Hey, TJ, I know there’s a music store here, too. Maybe you can get a few book that have the songs from Disney movies written down so you can learn them?”

“Yeah!” TJ nodded enthusiastically, “Nana would like that! She could sing the songs while I play!”

Steve smiled and herded everyone together again after a few more minutes. “We’ll look some more when we come back tomorrow to pick up the shirts, guys. We are gonna eat at the _T-Rex_!”

Doug cheered then looked around, sheepish and nervous, expecting to get yelled at for such an outburst. Instead, Clint cheered right back.

TJ didn’t cheer like his brother; he’d never been as interested in dinosaurs like his twin, but he did look excited.

The group went to their dinner and enjoyed the ambiance of sitting in a themed room right before the asteroid was supposed to hit and destroy all life on earth. When the fake asteroid explosion happened the first time, Kevin squealed as loud as the others. By the third time, no one was really reacting anymore. After dinner, Steve took them to the Build-a-Dino workshop to make stuffed dinos if they wanted.

Kevin breathed, “a sabretooth, Ava!”

Looking where her brother pointed, Ava nodded and smiled brightly, “know what I’m making!”

Doug sounded out each name until he came to one that gave him pause. “Tasmanian Wolf?”

TJ blinked and looked at Doug, having been trying to find a dinosaur that interested him but none had so far. “A wolf?” He asked, walking over to his twin.

The staff member on duty walked over and began enthusiastically explaining all about the Tasmanian Wolf.

Steve smiled in relief that TJ had found something similar to his own interests. “Clever of them to include at least one ancient cat and dog in the mix.”

Bucky nodded, watching as all the kids chose their dinosaurs to make; he smiled softly, “yeah, because not all kids are fans of reptiles.”

“Daniel is,” Clint laughed, making a sabertooth for himself, joining in with the kids as he had all the vacation so far.

“Same with Doug,” Bucky grinned.

Nodding, Steve said, “we can make it back to Animal Kingdom before the _River of Lights_ fireworks show, Bucky. Think they’d like that?”

“Probably,” Bucky nodded, “sounds like a cool show.”

Nodding, Steve called out, “after we make our friends, we’re gonna go back to Animal Kingdom and see the _River of Lights_ show!”

Daniel cheered, Ava joined her best friend.

“Cool!” TJ agreed.

It was a couple hours later when the tired group straggled into the suite, exhausted, carrying stuffed animals and wearing ears and bracelets, and almost too tired to talk. Steve said, “everyone happy? Get washed up and go to bed. We need sleep!”

Bucky looked into the bedroom TJ had already disappeared in and laughed, “someone’s already fast asleep!” He looked back at Steve, giving his husband a tired smile.

Steve nodded and hugged his husband happily. “Good, they sleep better when they've exercised all day.” He scooped up sleepy Kevin and carried him off to get ready for bed.

Walking into the room where TJ already slept, Bucky eased the boy’s shoes off and managed to get the boy changed into his PJ’s using only his one arm without waking the boy up.

Doug yawned and got changed, his pajamas winding up on backwards. He fell into bed and asleep without correcting the problem.

Once both boys were in the bed, Bucky tucked them both in and moved into his own room to get ready. He slipped out of his clothes, pulled on a pair of sweats and waited for Steve to get in.

After a few more minutes, Steve smiled, walking into their room. “That was an adventure, huh?” He sat down on the side of the bed, yawning, pulling out his tablet to check off some things on his app. “Music, dinos and Legos, art, anything loud and obnoxious . . . so, got TJ, Doug, Kevin, Ava, and Clint covered. What about Daniel?” He grinned up at Bucky.

Laughing, Bucky rubbed his weary face and nodded, “well, Daniel is a practical _mini-me_ of Clint. So, anything Clint likes, get Daniel.”

“Funny how Daniel’s no blood relation but is so much like Clint, huh?” Steve laughed, standing up to begin stripping down.

“Yeah, crazy,” Bucky yawned, covering his mouth with his hand, “nurture over nature?”

“Most likely,” Steve agreed. “All these kids had something bad in their past . . . well, the twins in their present.” Steve sighed and grabbed a pair of sweats. “But they’re all good kids.” He checked his app again. “Well, the eighty degree weather’s dropping tonight, Bucky. More like Christmas I guess. It’s going into the fifties tomorrow. Jackets and jeans, I think.”

“We’ll make sure the kids dress accordingly,” Bucky nodded, “layers are always good, that way if they get hot or vice versa they can add or take off layers as needed.” Bucky pulled the blankets back and slid under the covers. “So far we’ve been lucky, no major breakdowns. Just a little crying from Kevin on the first day and the little incident with TJ today.”

“And no seizures, either,” Steve sighed in relief. “How you feeling, baby? How’s the stress?” He nuzzled at his husband’s stump, kissing gently. Steve always took the time to show Bucky he didn’t mind the marks of the hard life his lover had lived.

“So far so good,” Bucky assured, giving Steve a small smile, “I mean, amusement parks have always been a bit of a stressor but it’s been okay so far.”

“You know, I never forget, every day, that you returned to me because you took Ava to the museum instead of Coney Island.” Steve kissed Bucky’s neck.

“Blame my shitty air conditioning,” Bucky laughed softly, “cost a fortune to get that thing fixed so had to take her somewhere cheaper.”

“Glad you chose the Met, Bucky. We needed to find one another again.” Steve reached down and stroked his husband’s passage gently, careful not to make Bucky feel like he _had_ to agree to sex.

Mewling softly, Bucky’s hips canted upwards, “S - - Steve?” The brunet hadn’t thought Steve would be in the mood for anything but sleeping; however, he wouldn’t mind some loving from his husband.

Smiling, Steve got up, kissing Bucky’s lips quickly. “Let me get the lube, sweetheart. I think we need some adult time.” He headed for his bag and retrieve the lube, sliding back into bed next to Bucky. Shimmying out of his clothes, Steve helped Bucky to strip, too. Then he asked, “how do you want me? Wanna ride?”

Purring softly, Bucky nodded and moved to straddle his husband’s lap.

Chuckling softly, Steve said, “eager, love? Let me open you up, Buck.” He poured lube on his fingers and began caressing and stretching Bucky.

As his husband opened him up, Bucky crashed his lips against Steve’s, rolling his hips to meet the blond’s fingers. They never got enough time to be with one another, having two kids and being busy with their own careers.

Steve took some time to work on Bucky before he finally lubed his own member and slid carefully inside his husband. Bottoming out, Steve stayed still, deep inside his beloved, and smiled, sighing. “I’m home again,” he said.

Keening, Bucky let his head fall back as he let Steve stay deeply embedded for several moments. After a while, Bucky began to use his strong legs to rise and fall on his lover’s cock, gasping and mewling every time his ass fell flush against Steve’s pelvis. “God, I love you, Steve . . .” Bucky breathed, continuing his slow pace, letting Steve feel every movement.

“As much as I love you, James Buchanan Rogers,” Steve smiled, stealing kisses every time Bucky got close enough.


	4. Surprises Abound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **WARNINGS: Seizure, Angst, Possible Child Neglect**

TJ, bundled in a jacket for the temperature drop that Steve had seen coming, looked up at the tall blond, “and you promise that Santa got the e-mail?”

“I got a return e-mail. Wanna see?” Steve tapped his phone then turned it around for TJ to read the letter Head Elf Bernard sent in reply to the letter. It even listed some of TJ’s requested gifts and the fact that they were at Disney World in Florida.

Grinning as he read the e-mail, TJ nodded and looked satisfied, “it’s weird that Santa didn’t have a money limit this year. It was always hard to do the math to figure out what we could add and what we couldn’t.”

Steve had finally figured out how to address that question if it came up. Pulling TJ close, he said, “I think your parents wanted the money limit so they could sneak a couple of the gifts off the list to buy for you themselves. You think?”

“But . . . wouldn’t they know what the things cost? Momma and Daddy know everything, Steve,” TJ sounded a little confused.

Clint called out, as if absently in passing, “they wanted to make sure you knew your math was all. Santa has no cost limit, just space limits. But this way you learned your math, didn’t you? Hey, there’s a playground!” He picked up his speed, heading towards the merry-go-round.

TJ seemed distracted by the playground and ran after Clint, calling over his shoulder, “c’mon, Dougie!”

Doug took off after the pair, heading for the slid in anticipation of the flying feeling he adored. He hoped he could get down it before the adults stopped him and told him, yet again, it was too dangerous to play on the slide.

Daniel pulled Ava off to the swings and called a challenge to Nat that they could swing higher than she could.

“You two try every time,” Nat laughed, heading off after the teenagers.

Bucky looked down at Kevin, “did you want to play, Kevin? Or just find a bench to sit on?”

Kevin leaned into Bucky, watching Steve catch up to the twins he was buddied with. Looking up at Bucky, Kevin opened his mouth then his eyes rolled back in his head and he began to shake.

Immediately, Bucky lowered the boy on his side and began to loosen any of Kevin’s restrictive clothing. He looked up and called, “Steve!”

Steve, laughing, turned and all sound stopped short. He bolted towards Bucky and Kevin, leaving the twins to the care of Clint, who immediately gathered them close, stopping the play time for the moment. Steve arrived beside his husband and son and started helping with Kevin.

The seizure didn’t last long and finally Kevin lay in his postictal state, quiet in Bucky’s arms. Steve stroked his son’s back. “He was doing so well, and this wasn’t even a stress day.”

Bucky continued to coo gently at Kevin; he looked up at Steve, pale eyes worried. They’d dealt with many of Kevin’s seizures but they never ceased to worry Bucky.

Raising his voice to call to the others, Steve said, “Kevin’s okay, guys. You can go back to playing. Who wants to bring Kevin to the lodge and watch over him while he naps?” He met Bucky’s eyes, promising to take on either the twins or Kevin’s illness, whichever Bucky wanted.

“I’ll take Kevin,” Bucky said; luckily he’d worn his mechanical arm that day so would be able to carry Kevin.

Nodding, Steve helped Bucky to stand with Kevin in his arms. “The gifts will be arriving all day, just tell the cast members where to put them and let them do the work. They would have if we weren’t there, any way.”

Bucky nodded, holding Kevin close, “yeah, I’ll give you a call if he has another one. Do you think we should call Bruce?”

“Yes, let him know what Kevin’s been doing. I have a feeling he’s going to second what the cast has been telling us, Disney isn’t for epileptics.” Steve sighed.

Sighing, Bucky shook his head, “well, if he has another, I could always, after Christmas, take him back to New York?”

“We’ll discuss it if it happens, baby. After all, there’s the option of remaining in the room or going to the Animal Kingdom repeatedly. There’s also other things in Florida nearby to do, Buck. Ones that won’t involve strobe lights. Legoland is nearby. Let’s take it as it happens.” Steve kissed Bucky, tucked Kevin’s jacket closer, and stepped back, frowning in worry.

TJ, who hadn’t gone back to playing, watched Steve with wide eyes. “Is Kevin dying?” He asked.

“No, honey, Kevin has something called epilepsy. It’s a sickness that you can’t catch. He was born with it. It makes his entire body start shaking and he can’t stop it. He wets and poohs himself sometimes, too, and drools. It makes him sick and tired and weak.” Steve looked down at TJ. “He’s on special medicine, but it doesn’t make it stop, just makes it happen less often. There’s no cure yet.” He took the boy’s hand.

“But, Kevin’s gonna be okay for Christmas, right? One time, I was real sick over Christmas and I couldn’t even get outta bed. It sucked,” TJ frowned in sympathy for the little boy.

“We hope he’ll be okay, but we’re not sure. Bucky’s gonna talk to his doctor to make sure we’re doing everything we can for him.” Steve looked down at TJ again. “Come on, TJ. You should know Kevin enough by now to know he’ll wanna hear all about what you did today. He’ll be happy if you can find the energy to play.”

TJ frowned and looked around; his eyes caught on a window of a nearby store. Tugging Steve’s hand, the eight year old asked, “can we look there?” He pointed to a shop that had a lot of pink, purple and light blue items displayed in the window. It looked like a shop for little girls, with fairies and other princess themed items.

Steve smiled, eyes lighting up. “Hey, TJ, if I gave you some of the money your parents gave me for your presents, would you like to shop for presents? You and Doug both?”

Looking excited, TJ nodded, “yeah!”

Nodding, Looking over at the group half-heartedly swinging and Clint sitting talking quietly with Doug on the very still merry-go-round, Steve called, “we’re shopping, get up guys. This time the kids do the shopping for each other and the adults. We can switch off every hour so they can surprise everyone!” He knew that shopping would perk Ava up.

Looking at Steve and TJ, Ava nodded, “yeah, sounds fun,” she still looked worried for her little brother but the idea of getting presents for the others made her happy.

When the group agreed, Steve nodded and led the party to TJ’s choice of shop first. “Here we go. We’ll start here. Me and TJ. Clint and Doug. Ava and Nat. Daniel, pick a group. Then we switch up in an hour.”

Daniel went off with Clint and Doug.

In the shop, after looking around the whole store, TJ found a pretty tiara with light pink, blue and purple gemstones. It was made of pliable metal so could be conformed to fit any sized head. Showing it to Steve, TJ asked, “will Kevin like this? He seems to like sparkly things with pretty colors.”

“Kevin will adore it, TJ. He loves being in pretty things, and pastel colors are his favorite.” Steve hugged TJ. “Thank you for being open minded enough not to tell him to wear boy things. We want him happy.” Steve smiled wide.

“I like Kevin, he should be able to wear what he wants. I hate it when Momma forces me into uncomfortable, itchy shirts,” TJ scrunched his nose and then walked up to the counter to place the tiara on it so the clerk could ring it up. “It’s a Christmas present for a friend,” he reported to the woman with a smile.

She smiled and said, “I’m sure she’ll love it.”

“It’s for a boy. He likes sparkly, pretty things,” TJ said, taking the money Steve handed him so he could pay for his item.

The woman nodded, looking a little surprise, but this one didn’t seem upset by the idea. She just smiled and took the money, giving TJ his change and asking, “do you want this wrapped as a gift? You can take it to the customer desk over by the door and they’ll wrap it.”

“Yeah, I don’t wrap good,” TJ took the tiara, smiling at the woman, “thanks!” He turned to walk over to the desk so the cast member could wrap the pretty item. “Can you use that pink princess paper?” TJ asked.

Nodding, the woman said, “if your friend likes pretty sparkly things, you might want to try the fairy dust paper instead. It’s got the entire rainbow in glitter on it.”

Eyes widening, TJ nodded, “let’s use that one! He likes sparkly things.”

The woman blinked, much like the sales member had, at the revelation this was for a boy. Then she smiled wide. “Well, the fairy dust paper is the most sparkly we have. I’m sure he’ll love it!” And she proceeded to wrap the gift, sprinkling a small amount of glitter inside the gift, too, before sealing it. She winked at TJ and whispered, “don’t tell anyone I added fairy dust. I’m not supposed to show my wings.”

Grinning brightly, TJ took the gift with great care, “thanks!” He leaned in closer and whispered, “you’re a good fairy, I like you.”

“And you’re a good friend. Good friends find they have good fairies where they least know it,” she winked. “Have a good day, sir.”

“Thanks,” TJ smiled and took Steve’s hand, holding Kevin’s present in the other, “Doug likes Legos and Dinosaurs and stuff. Are there any stores that have those?”

Nodding, Steve asked, “we missed the Lego store yesterday, would you like to get the others and go to Disney Springs today?”

“I don’t want Dougie to see what I’m gettin’ him. It’s supposed to be a surprise, Steve,” TJ pointed out.

“Okay, here’s an idea,” Steve sat in a chair by the customer service desk and pulled TJ onto his lap. “This tablet has the list you made, right? For Santa? Did you know that we can also ask Mickey’s staff to buy things for us and bring it to our suite?”

“Really?” TJ asked, looking surprised; he carefully placed Kevin’s gift on the table next to them to look at the tablet. “So, I can order Dougie Legos and have them delivered to the suite?”

“Yes, you can. And I see they have a kit to make a lego dinosaur listed right there.” Steve smiled widely.

Gasping, TJ looked down and nodded, “can we get that for Dougie? He’d love it!”

Nodding, Steve showed TJ how to order the toy and put in the delivery information. “Okay, TJ, I’ve set you a limit for shopping in here, okay? It’s three hundred dollars. You don’t have to spend it all. Here’s a calculator over here in this app. You can keep track of how much you want to spend on each person and don’t have to leave the chair at all unless you want to look around. This app has all the stores in it. What do you think?” Steve glanced over where he saw Nat and Ava approaching.

TJ shielded the tablet from the approaching group’s eyes, not wanting them to see what he was getting. He planned on getting everyone something.

Natasha quirked an amused brow at Steve, her emerald eyes moving to look at TJ who tapped on the tablet, his body curled over the device to hide it from unwanted eyes.

“We may have found a method someone can use instead of shopping, if they prefer. If you want, leave the kids with me who don’t wanna go store to store. I’ll help them online shop and get their stuff delivered by tonight. You can take the shoppers with you?”

“That works,” Natasha nodding, smiling at Ava, “which one do you want to do?”

“I like going into the actual stores,” Ava admitted.

Clint trotted up with Doug and Daniel, having caught Steve’s offer as he approached. “I vote to take people to eat,” he grinned.

“Always hungry,” Natasha laughed.

Steve tapped TJ’s head. “Look who’s back.”

“Huh?” TJ asked, looking up, still keeping the tablet covered so no one could see. He looked around and his eyes widened; he looked back down at the tablet and then at the group. “Needs to stay a surprise, Steve,” TJ murmured softly.

“Don’t have to show anyone,” Steve assured him. “We’re changing the plans a bit. I’ll keep people here to order over tablet and have stuff delivered. We can even asked for specific wrapping paper. Nat’s taking shoppers who want to look in stores. Clint wants to get food.”

“I’m going with Natasha,” Ava announced, smiling in excitement.

Steve nodded and tapped her band. “Your shopping money is in there. Try to keep it under four hundred total unless you have a good defense for a specific expensive gift, okay? You know special gifts are quite allowed.”

Ava nodded, “thanks, Steve!”

Nodding, Steve grinned. “Daniel? Doug? Which choice?”

Daniel laughed. “I’m shopping with Ava, Mom, and Dad. We can still switch off.”

Steve turned to Doug. “Can I shop like TJ?” Doug asked with wide eyes, looking very interested.

Nodding, Natasha sifted through her purse and pulled out a tablet, she tapped on the screen a few times before offering it to Doug, “here you go.”

Doug took the tablet and smiled widely. "Thanks, Natasha!" He sat by Steve, who proceeded to show him how to use the app for shopping like TJ. Steve waved the preteens and other couple off to enjoy their free day.

It took nearly two hours before TJ had finished and bought everyone one gift and he’d managed to stay under the spending limit. He handed the tablet back to Steve and then looked at Kevin’s gift on the table, “when do you guys open presents?”

“Well, we open stockings on Christmas Eve and the rest in the morning on Christmas.” Steve stroked TJ’s hair as the boy sat on his lap.

“Okay,” TJ nodded, settling in Steve’s lap as Doug worked through his Christmas shopping. “I ordered something for Momma and Daddy, too, is that okay?”

“Of course, it’s okay, TJ. I’m glad you did without being reminded.” Steve hugged the boy again. “You’re a sweet kid, TJ, thoughtful and kind.”

“Momma says I wander too much but that I obey,” TJ laid his head on Steve’s shoulder. “I don’t mean to wander, honest.”

“I know why you do,” Steve said, looking over to make sure Doug was okay. Cast members were occasionally watching the trio sitting by the customer service desk, but no one disturbed them.

“‘Cause I’m easily distracted?” TJ offered softly.

“Because you see something interesting and you get so focused on it that you don’t even realize you’re walking over to it, TJ. And, while that’s not bad behavior, it’s dangerous. You can get hit by a car, at the least, or hurt in other ways. There are ways to help you focus without losing yourself. Maybe I can help your parents figure them out?” Steve smiled and pressed the app on his tablet, looking through a blank listing of lego sets for sale.

Nodding, TJ said, “that’d be good. I don’t wanna get hurt. Momma sometimes yells at me if I wander and I don’t like that, either.”

Nodding, Steve says, “I can understand that. She yells because she got scared you’ll get hurt and doesn’t know how to stop it.” He hugged again. “Think Kevin will like this lego set? It’s got pink, purple, _and_ turquoise blocks.”

Looking over at the tablet, TJ nodded, “yeah, it has all those pretty colors he likes.”

Nodding, Steve clicked the shop button. He skimmed through more sets. “Do you miss your Nana, TJ? Want to call her?”

“She’s busy, like Momma and Daddy,” TJ sighed softly, putting his head on Steve’s shoulder again.

Nodding, Steve said, “okay. But maybe tonight she won’t be so busy?”

“Yeah, maybe,” TJ murmured; he’d honestly thought his Momma or Daddy would’ve called by then . . . but they hadn’t heard anything from the couple since they left them at Steve and Bucky’s house. Looking at the tablet in Steve’s hands, TJ pointed at a specific set, “I think Kevin would really like that one.”

“You think?” Steve asked, smiling. “It’s got a pegasus in it . . .”

“Uh huh,” TJ nodded, “pegasus’ are cool, Steve. And that pegasus is pink, that’ll make it even cooler in Kevin’s eyes.”

“Okay, I think we can order a last set for Kevin.” Steve clicked on it, waited, and smiled widely when the sale went through. “We did it. Must be under budget!”

“Uh huh,” TJ smiled proudly, “I saved you almost forty dollars, Steve.”

“Smart boy,” Steve praised. “So, maybe you can help Clint save money next time? He’s always saying Pizza Dog eats so much that the dog’ll eat him out of house and home.”

Giggling softly, TJ said, “that’s a funny name for a dog.”

“Yeah, Clint’s not real good with names, huh? You wouldn’t know he owns a bookstore.” Steve laughed.

“I like dogs but Momma says we aren’t allowed to have any,” TJ said, “I like wolves, too, but those aren’t pets. They’re in the wild.”

“And they like being wild,” Steve agreed.

Shortly after the interesting conversation, Steve gathered the twins, texted Nat, and took TJ and Doug back to the suite. There, he was pleased to note the living room shut off from prying eyes. Guiding the twins down the hallway to their bedroom, he said, “why don’t you two get a shower. Then climb in the bath and I’ll let you play with Kevin’s bath toys and some bubbles?” He got them settled quickly enough, leaving the bathroom door open enough to listen for any distress, then went to check on his husband and son.

Knocking softly at the open door, Steve looked into the bedroom to find Bucky sitting on the bed with Kevin lying down, head on Bucky’s lap, reading quietly. “How’re my guys?” he asked softly.

Bucky looked up and softly smiled at his husband, “no other seizures. Bruce gave us the same advice everyone else has. Tomorrow he should take it easy.”

“Tomorrow’s Christmas. No parks or shopping. Kevin, think you can contain your excitement?” Steve smiled.

“I’ll stay calm, Dad. I want a good day, too.” He smiled up at the tall blond.

Steve dropped a kiss on Bucky’s and Kevin’s heads then took off to check on the twins.

**************

The next morning, very early, before the sun was even fully over the horizon, Steve and Bucky were woken by someone pouncing on their bed and shaking them awake. “Steve! Bucky!” TJ’s voice sounded full of excitement for it being so early. “Santa came! There's a bunch of presents under the tree! Some for me and Dougie, too!”

Steve grinned, not bothered in the least that he’d been rudely awaken so early. “Of course there are. I told you Santa wouldn’t miss you here. How can he? We sent enough e-mails back and forth.” He grinned and turned to kiss Bucky then stretched and reached past Bucky to Kevin, who’d slept in the bed with his parents. “Hey, Kev, Christmas.”

Kevin blinked awake and yawned, smiling sleepily. He looked at the very excited TJ and asked, “Santa came?”

Doug ran in, just as excited but not hopping onto the bed or adults there. “Santa came!” he exclaimed, dancing a bit in his joy.

Bucky, a bit slower to wake but not looking annoyed, sat up and yawned. “Better get coffee made for Clint,” he laughed softly, slipping past Kevin to get off the bed.

“For Clint? What about for Bucky beast?” Steve laughed.

“Well that too,” Bucky chuckled running his hand through his hair as he made his way out of the bedroom and into the living room. TJ ran out after the adult and then settled in the living room, looking at the presents with wide eyes but not moving to touch them.

Doug joined his twin on the floor, grabbing TJ’s hand in excitement. “I think this is the best Christmas ever!”

“Wish Momma and Daddy coulda been here, too,” TJ said but didn't lose his excitement. “They woulda have had fun.”

Nodding, Doug leaned against TJ’s shoulder with his own. “This is exciting. How many do you think we got? Three this year, maybe?”

Kevin sat down on the other side of TJ and smiled. “Well, if everyone got one from everyone else, that’s eight. Then the Santa gift makes nine, right?” The little blond didn’t mention that there were many more than just one Santa gift for each kid.

TJ’s eyes widened at the number and he looked at Doug, “nine?”

“Nine’s a lot!” Doug hugged TJ.

Bucky watched the children interacting with a smile as he brewed a pot of coffee for the adults, and maybe even Daniel, since the preteen was never up this early; he doubted even on Christmas if the boy would wake up willingly before the sun rose.

Bucky heard footsteps behind him and Clint reached past for the fresh brewed coffee. “You’re the best thing beside my wife this morning. Thanks, Buck.”

“I know,” Bucky laughed, sipping at his own coffee, having to forgo his normal vanilla creamer since they didn't have any in the hotel room. “Think Daniel is gonna be up soon? Think TJ and Doug might explode if we make them wait much longer.”

Clint laughed, “Daniel’s in the bathroom. There are three days a year he gets up early. His birthday, Christmas, and the last day of school.”

Kevin looked around, “Need Ava and Natasha!”

“Natasha is up,” the redhead called out with a smile. Nodding, Bucky set down his mug to pour one for Natasha, who approached looking sleepy but happy. “Merry Christmas everyone,” she greeted.

Daniel came from the bathroom, yawning but looking as awake as he ever did in the mornings. He blinked. “Where’s Ava? If she doesn’t get her buttocks out here, I’ll open her gifts _for_ her.”

“Probably still sleeping,” Bucky laughed, picking up his mug again to take a sip.

“I’ll check she wasn’t stolen by Elves,” Steve said, chuckling, and turned for Ava’s room. He knocked on his adopted daughter’s door. “Princess?”

“ _Way_ too early,” came the girl’s groggy reply.

“Okay,” Steve agreed. “Presents can wait, I guess.”

“I’m _up_ , gimme a second,” Ava called, and a few moments later the girl walked out, looking very sleepy.

Steve kissed her forehead. “Kevin guesstimates everyone got maybe nine gifts each.”

“Probably more than that,” Ava yawned, heading over to the couch to sit on it.

Steve came back and sank down on a chair. “Okay, who’s an Elf this year?” he asked.

“No one here is an Elf, Steve,” TJ called to the blond, looking over his shoulder at Steve.

Looking surprised, Steve said, “but if there aren’t any Santa’s Helpers, who’s going to give out the gifts since Santa's not here?”

TJ looked around and then back at Steve.

Doug raised his hand. “I can be a helper.”

Teasing Steve said, “can you read?” Doug nodded vigorously. “All right, Doug, you get to hand out gifts. Anyone want to help him with this mountain?”

“I can! I can read, too,” TJ said, also raising his hand in the air.

Steve smiled wide. “Oh, I think Santa's gonna like two such eager, clever helpers. Okay, what you two need to do is make sure everyone has a gift to open. We do that one of two ways. Either we hand out one gift to each and all open then do it again . . . or we can just hand everybody's gifts to them all at once and take turns opening?”

“Let’s do the second one,” TJ suggested, already scrambling to his feet and heading towards the massive amount of presents.

Doug began sorting and running gifts to each person, eagerly. About a quarter of the way into the pile, a furry black head got revealed. Doug paused. “What’s that?” he asked softly, eyes wide.

“What’s what?” TJ asked, his back to the tree as he set a present on Clint’s pile.

“Look!” Doug pointed at the furry ears.

Turning, TJ tilted his head and looked at where Doug pointed. After a few moments, the eight year old’s eyes widened and he seemed frozen on the spot. “Is that . . .”

Smiling as he relaxed back in his chair, Steve sipped his juice. “Looks like a dog, huh?”

Cautiously, almost like he was afraid the stuffed animal would move away if he got too close, TJ carefully pulled at the ears until the entire, three foot wolf was revealed. The boy took in the toy and his eyes caught on the maroon bow wrapped around the wolf’s neck with a tag with TJ’s name engraved on it. The present read that it was from his parents. “Dougie . . . Momma and Daddy got me this!” TJ said, looking at Doug with wide eyes.

Doug looked surprised and excited. He started examining the wolf all over, grinning. “How’d they know? How’d they get it here?”

Steve said, “Christmas is magic.”

After receiving the wolf, Doug was on his own for delivering the rest of the presents, TJ too distracted with the beautiful black stuffed wolf.

Doug didn’t seem to mind becoming sole Elf. He did his job quickly, amid giggles and even guesses as to what might be inside each package he gave out. He finally sat down in front of his own generous pile, sorting through diligently. With a cry of excitement, Doug pulled out the present allegedly from his own parents. He unwrapped it without asking, forgetting they were supposed to be waiting. He exclaimed over the massive erector set. “I can build towers and things that really work!”

Bucky smiled at Steve, knowing the erector set had been Steve’s idea. He reached over and squeezed his husband’s hand gently.

Kevin looked up. “Can we open our presents now?” he asked, as if Doug hadn’t already opened one.

“One at a time,” Bucky reminded, loud enough to reach the twins, “that way everyone can see what you got.”

Kevin grinned widely. “This’ll take all day! You first, Ava! You always get such pretty things.”

Smiling, Ava looked at her pile and then pulled out a present that was labeled from Becca. She unwrapped it and grinned at the matching necklace and earrings her mother had chosen for her. She proudly showed off the gift to everyone before letting the next person get their turn.

The morning moved along fairly quickly with presents being opened and displayed, until finally the pile dwindled to only a few each. Kevin, eyes wide, carefully picked up a gift wrapped in very glittery paper. He smiled wide. “This is from TJ, it says.” He looked at TJ. “I love this paper. It’s very pretty.” He carefully unwrapped the gift so the paper was spared tearing or anything else. As glitter fell into his lap, Kevin lifted out the tiara and looked stunned. Slowly he looked at TJ and tears came to his eyes. “Foe me? Really? A real live princess crown?”

Blinking, not expecting the tears, TJ hugged the wolf, which hadn’t left his lap all morning, and said, “yeah? I . . . I thought you’d like it? Has those colors you always pick for everything . . .”

Kevin threw himself at the other boy and hugged him tight. “It’s beautiful! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He pulled away, grinning and crying, and went to Bucky. “Can you put it on me, Papa?”

Bucky smiled and carefully took the tiara from Kevin; realizing that the pliable metal would need to be conformed to Kevin’s small head, he looked at Steve and then back at Kevin. “Gonna have to have Dad help you get it to fit right, Tiger. Requires two hands.” Bucky didn’t look embarrassed not to be able to do something, having gotten used to some limitations when he didn’t wear the prosthetic.

Nodding, Kevin moved to Steve and let his father adjust the tiara, beaming at TJ the entire time. When he finished, Steve patted Kevin’s back and and said, “there you go, Kev. The most beautiful boy in the room. Maybe even in Disney.”

“Maybe the world!” TJ grinned brightly at the little boy, happy that Kevin had liked his gift.

“Best Christmas ever,” Kevin sighed happily, sinking down next to Bucky once more, leaning against his side. “I got two new cousins _and_ a princess crown.”

Bucky smiled and ran his fingers through Kevin’s hair, being careful of the new tiara, happy that Doug and TJ were so accepting of Kevin's personality. He hoped that, even after the vacation was over, the twins would be able to stay in contact. Kevin needed friends who accepted him for who he was.

TJ looked at his brother and then reached over to pull his present to Doug out of his brother's pile. “Open this one, Dougie? Please?” It seemed that TJ was more excited for the others to open the gifts he gave them than to open his own presents.

Doug looked delighted. “Thanks!” He quickly opened the gift, then paused when he accidentally ripped the paper in his enthusiasm. “I’m sorry! It was an accident!”

Steve grinned. “Nah, rip away, Dougie. It’s fine. Paper rips.”

Biting his lip, Doug tried to be careful opening the rest of the gift then sat there, looking stunned at what he held. “A _Lego_ dinosaur?” His eyes opened wide and he looked at TJ. “You found one . . . for me?”

Looking excited, TJ nodded vigorously, clutching at the wolf in his lap. “Yeah! I saw it and I knew you'd like it! Now you can build a _dinosaur_! Cool, huh?”

Nodding, Doug wrapped his arms around TJ much as Kevin had. “You’re the bestest brother ever, Teej!”

TJ simply smiled and hugged his brother in return. He’d never been able to get anyone any presents before for Christmas; he found out that he loved seeing the excitement in the others’ faces when they opened up his gifts.

Steve smiled to see the twins so happy. He looked around, gesturing to Daniel to open another gift.

And so the day went on, happily, with just enough excitement for pleasure but not too much for Kevin’s recovery. It seemed like night came far too quickly, but Steve didn’t have the group get bundled and go see a show or anything. He let them play, eat, talk, and relax as a family group. As the time grew closer to nine, Steve called out, “everyone ready for a good clean up and bed? We have Universal Studios tomorrow.”

“That’s where we get to be wizards, right?” TJ asked, looking up at Steve.

“Exactly. We can visit the Super Hero area, and _Jurassic Park_ for the dinosaurs, too.” The tall blond smiled, scooping up a yawning Kevin.

“Hear that, Dougie?” TJ whirled around to look at his twin, “we’re gonna go to _Jurassic Park_!”

“That’s my all time favorite movie!” Doug breathed, excited, though tired.

“Well,” Bucky laughed, standing up and giving Doug a smile, “the sooner you get to the bed, the sooner you can wake up and get ready for _Jurassic Park_.”

Nodding, Doug got up and began putting his toys in a very neat pile, trying to fold the new clothes he’d received as well. “I’d love that, Cousin Bucky!”

“Good,” Bucky laughed, moving over to help Doug fold the clothes. After they were done, Bucky leaned in closer and whispered, “ya think you can wrangle your brother to bed, too?”

Nodding, Doug walked over to TJ and took his hand, pulling him to his feet. “C’mon, let’s go get our showers.” He dragged his twin from the room and all their new stuff. TJ went willingly enough, clutching his new wolf in one arm and looking back at his new stuff before Doug dragged him fully into the bedroom.

Ava said goodnight to everyone before slipping into her own room to get ready for bed.

Daniel hopped to his feet and hugged his parents. “Night guys. Thanks for all the great stuff! This was a really good Christmas.” He turned and took Kevin from Steve. “I got him. You adults get some cuddle time.” He grinned impudently and hurried to the room he shared with the seven year old.

Tossing a grin at Steve, Bucky asked, “cuddle time? Must really be Christmas!”

Laughing low, Steve nodded. “Night, Nat, Clint.” He took Bucky’s hand and tugged him towards their bedroom, whispering, “twice in one vacation? _Must_ be Christmas.” He grinned wickedly.

**************

As they were heading towards Universal, TJ looked at Steve and Bucky and asked, “is it the same buddies as before?”

“Yup,” Steve grinned. “And guess what I’ve got?” He held up a long blue cloth lead with a cuff at either end, one smaller than the other. “Your safety line.”

TJ smiled, looking relieved, “that way I don’t get lost!”

“Exactly. And it goes like this,” Steve put the bigger cuff around his own wrist, velcroing it tight without cutting off circulation. He then cuffed TJ securely. “How’s that feel? Too tight? Too loose?”

“It feels good,” TJ answered, looking down at the cuff and then at Steve.

“So, everyone ready to get on the shuttle to Universal?” Steve asked.

Bucky, looking relieved himself, watched Steve and TJ, very happy that TJ hadn’t taken offense to Steve’s suggestion. And with the leash, they wouldn’t have to worry about TJ wandering away too far. Bucky nodded and then looked to Kevin, “you ready, Tiger?”

Nodding, Kevin grinned up at Bucky and linked hands with the metal limb. “Ready, Papa. I saw a commercial that showed the wand maker and he was making things fly and stuff. Will he do that?”

“I don’t know, Tiger, only one way to find out, huh?” Bucky asked with a grin, leading Kevin onto the shuttle that would take them to Universal Studios.

When the entire group got to the other set of theme parks, some said the _rival_ theme parks to Disney, Steve counted heads happily. He led the group out of the shuttle and up to the area where they could get their tickets and fast passes and ticket holders for around their necks, letting each person pick out his or her own pattern. Then they went into the park, through the _City Walk_ section, and to the left, towards _Islands of Adventure_. Steve stopped them before they went through the gate. “Okay, see the people with the tablets on the other side? Those are telemarketer people and stuff. Don’t stop to talk to them or we’ll be here all morning.”

“What’s a telemarketer?” TJ asked, his head tilting up to look at Steve.

“They’re people who try to sell you something you’re not really looking to buy. They’ll ask a bunch of questions and try to sell property or more vacations or upgrades. We don’t want or need what they have, so we’re going to ignore them and just keep going. Okay?”

“Just keep going,” TJ echoed with a nod, sticking close to Steve’s side, though his eyes looked around with interest.

They ran the gauntlet, so to speak, and came out on the other side, with Daniel shaking his head in wonder at the rudeness. “How can Universal people hope to keep their customers happy if they torment them before any of them even get on a single ride?”

Ava nodded her agreement, “seems silly. A lot of people were getting upset . . . not a very good way to welcome people.”

Steve shrugged. “Not sure what’s better, but it certainly isn’t the greatest way to sell Universal stock or anything. It’d be better if they said, _‘excuse me, may we talk?’_ and let the people walk off if they get a negative answer, instead of saying _‘I’m going to ask a bunch of questions’_.” Steve pointed past the big stores towards the first branch in the road. “Okay, that way to Heroes, that way to Suess.”

“Can we see Heroes?” TJ asked, nearly vibrating in excitement.

Steve glanced to Bucky and smiled, “you okay meeting us at Harry Potter at about lunch time?” He would have loved to see his own son’s reactions to the park, but it would be hard with Kevin unable to do most of the rides.

“Sure thing,” Bucky nodded, flashing a grin at Kevin, “wanna check out Suess with me?”

“Can I see the heros? Please? I won’t haveta ride the rides, I promise! But I wanna see Captain America! He reminds me of Dad!” Kevin asked hopefully.

Looking at Steve, Bucky silently asked for the blond’s input.

“TJ, Doug, want to have Bucky and Kevin with us? We can start here and work our way around to Suess? And I’m sure we can all enjoy the rides in Suess as a wind down at the end of the day?” Steve offered the compromise.

TJ shrugged and nodded, not looking bothered in the least, “okay.”

“That’d be fun,” Doug nodded and took Kevin’s hand. “And we can see all the heros and dinosaurs together! And I can keep you safe and point out the nice dinos.”

Kevin nodded, grinning, not correcting Doug that he was only a year younger than the other boy, not several years.

Bucky looked at Natasha and Clint, who’d been with the older kids for the most part, “did you guys want to come with us or meet us in Harry Potter around lunch time?”

Clint looked at his wife and the preteens. “I think we wanna stick with you guys and if we want to double back during Suess, we can. Right guys?” He wanted Bucky to enjoy time with Ava, the niece he’d adopted as a daughter.

“Works for me,” Ava shrugged.

Thus, the day was spent first in the section for comic book heroes and Kevin was delighted that they managed to coincide with the hero parade. He even got to shake hands with Captain America and get his autograph. The others all went on the various rides while Kevin ran around getting the other heroes to autograph his book, too. He settled into his stroller when done, grinning and sipping his juice, eyes shining in excitement. “Almost as good as being a princess!” he exclaimed.

Steve held Bucky’s hand as he watched Kevin enjoy himself, knowing Clint, who wore the wrist leash in this section, would mind TJ for them. “And that’s a great sight, isn’t it, Buck?”

Smiling, Bucky nodded, “yeah, it’s great to be able to see him be able to be a normal kid, ya know? He’s come a long way in these two years.”

“And Ava’s content, too, which is great. There were a few rocky times with her, too,” Steve sighed happily, waving the others over as they exited the _Spiderman_ ride, talking about the cool virtual reality ride.

“Hey, guys, according to the information, the water rides in _Toon Town_ are shut down for maintenance. So, wanna skip to Skull Island and Jurassic Park?” Clint asked, grinning, handing TJ’s leash to Steve, who fastened it securely on.

“Skull Island? What’s that?” TJ asked.

Steve grinned wide, “King Kong!”

“The big monkey guy?” TJ tilted his head, looking at Steve with wide eyes.

“Yeah, the really big ape. We can skip and eat ice cream while the others go on if you want? It’s only the one ride,” Steve offered.

“Ice Cream!” Doug voted, since he hated monkeys of any kind.

Nodding vigorously in agreement with his twin, TJ said, “I want ice cream, too.” Their father had made them watch that movie a few years before and TJ had nightmares for a week about the giant ape.

Kevin raised his hand, “ice cream, Dad, please?”

Clint grinned. “Well, I’m going on with anyone who wants to do the ride. Anyone else, we’ll meet you at the end. We have fast pass here, after all.”

“I’ll go,” Ava said, smiling happily. She’d never experienced a large park like this or Disney World, Bucky never being able to afford it on his own, so she was truly having the time of her life and wanted to experience it all.

Daniel nodded. “Me too, I love that movie! Mom? Ice cream or apes?”

“I’ll go with you guys,” Natasha answered, looking at the preteens and her husband.

The foursome hurried into line at the popular ride while Steve led the rest to look at souvenirs and get ice cream. Twenty minutes passed before the others returned, flushed and excited about the bus tour and how it had been attacked by not only Kong but other critters. “Including giant spiders!” Daniel laughed.

TJ paled slightly at just the mention of giant spiders.

“Well, sounds like the force was with you, Teej, when you decided on ice cream,” Steve grinned down at the boy. “Anyone for dinosaurs?”

Nodding, TJ said, “yeah, dinosaurs . . .”

Doug hugged TJ and said, “there aren’t big spiders in Jurassic Park, Teej. We’ll be fine.”

TJ nodded again, taking a deep breath and giving Doug a smile, “let’s go see the dinosaurs.”

The group made it through the next part easily enough, though the river ride was down like in Toon Town. Then it was the Harry Potter section. Before they could go into the section that looked so much like Hogsmeade they could have been in the film, Steve said, “we’re all going to get lunch first then go to Ollivander’s for wands and robes. By then our tummies will settle and we’ll do rides, okay?”

Bucky nodded, smiling, “lunch sounds great. I know I’m getting hungry.”

Kevin cheered from his stroller. “Butterbeer!”

“Always wanted to try that stuff,” Bucky laughed, smiling at Steve, “looks good in the movies.”

“Sounds good in the books,” Clint added, winking at Bucky, the manager of his bookstore.

Shrugging one shoulder, Bucky grinned at Clint, “only got about halfway through the series. Never finished it. But, you’re right, does sound good in the books.”

Steve began laughing. “Nat, hear that? Bucky hasn’t finished a book or three.” He winked at his husband. “Wanna take over reading them with Kevin?”

“Blasphemy!” Nat looked at Bucky with wide eyes, faking shock and offense.

Bucky laughed and nodded, “yeah, in the efforts to keep my job, I’ll finish the books.”

Kevin looked happy. “You can join Dad and me when we read, Papa!”

“Sure,” Bucky agreed, laughing.

When they ate at the restaurant called the _Three Broomsticks_ , they discovered that everything on the menu, even the kid’s fare, was geared at Old English type food. Doug tried his pasty and was surprised he liked it but didn’t care for the pumpkin juice. Kevin liked anything he tried so swapped his butterbeer for Doug’s juice. Daniel kept stealing food from Ava or giving her some of his, which was silly since they had both ordered the same thing, a food known as Potstickers.

Bucky watched as Daniel and Ava kept swapping food; he gave his husband an amused look, knowing that the two preteens were flirting.

Steve smiled and went back to his own lunch, enjoying the unusual food. He was secretly glad they’d be in line at Ollivander’s next then shopping a bit; the hearty fare would fill them up too much to dare riding a roller coaster too soon. “So, does anyone know what house robes they want?” he asked, casually.

“I took a quiz once and it said I was a Hufflepuff,” Ava reported with a smile.

“I’m a Ravenclaw, I think,” Doug said, frowning. “Momma always says I’m too smart for my own good.”

“She doesn’t say that about me,” TJ shrugged, looking down at his food, poking at the potstickers with his fork.

“Nope, she says you’re always busy, never stop. I think that means you’re Hufflepuff.” Doug grinned.

“Okay,” TJ agreed with a nod.

Daniel sighed, “not sure what I am. Can I be Slytherin? I like green and snakes are cool.”

Clint nodded, “any robes you feel is right. Consider yourselves being sorted today. And, if you remember, even if the hat chooses one thing, you can choose what you want for a house.”

Bucky looked at Kevin, “you know what house you wanna be in, Tiger?”

“I like them all.” Kevin grinned up at Bucky. “Are you gonna get robes, too, Papa?”

Laughing, Bucky shrugged, “maybe? Though, I swear my letter got lost in the mail.”

“Nuh uh,” Kevin said, swinging his little legs. “Or you couldn’t get in Hogsmeade cause it’s a wizard only town. You’re here, aren’t you?”

“I guess I am,” Bucky laughed, running his flesh fingers through Kevin’s hair.

“There are four houses, Papa. Green is Slytherin. And Red is Gryffindor. Yellow is Hufflepuff, and Blue is Ravenclaw. Which do you like?” Kevin smiled, eating another bite of food.

Looking thoughtful for a few moments, Bucky said, “I think I like Ravenclaw.”

Nodding, Kevin looked at the other adults. “What do you guys want?”

“Gryffindor,” Steve said, winking.

“Definitely Slytherin,” Natasha answered promptly.

“Ravenclaw, cause I’m a real smart . . . aleck,” Clint chuckled.

Snorting softly, Bucky shook his head and started eating his food again, finishing his meal. Looking around, noticing that everyone else was finished as well, Bucky said, “alright, who’s ready to look at some wands and robes?”

“Me!” Kevin raised his hand. “I wanna be a wizard, Papa!”

“Alright,” Bucky laughed and pushed out of his chair, “let’s go.”


	5. All Good Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **WARNINGS: seizure symptoms, angst, illness, implied child neglect, referenced child sexual abuse**

Clint laughed and rose, waiting for the others to get up and the group to leave, heading over to the line standing outside and to the side of the shop known as Ollivander’s. “So, think they got different color wands like they do lightsabers? Will we have to build our own wand?”

“Thought most wands were brown,” TJ quipped from beside Steve, “aren’t they made of wood or somethin’?”

“Yeah, but some wood is green or black or even red. And what about polishing? Ron gives Harry a wand polishing kit at one point, doesn’t he? So, polishing could bring out other natural colors,” Steve answered.

“I guess,” TJ shrugged one shoulder, “I wanna see if there are other colors than brown.”

Nodding, Steve made sure the leash was fastened then took TJ’s and Doug’s hands, due to the extremely large crowd, and led his group into the building; thankful they all made it in without being split. The door shut right behind their last member, Nat, and the helpers started sorting everyone by height, meaning Kevin was in the very front with other little kids.

The man dressed as a wizard shopkeeper stepped forward and went through the scripted speech about wands and wand users. He then studied the crowd and smiled at Daniel and Ava. “Are you here to get wands?”

Daniel nodded, eyes wide, in awe despite being fourteen. “Yes, sir.”

The actor nodded, “and what are your names?”

Daniel looked at Ava and said, “she’s Ava.”

“He’s Daniel,” Ava answered, eyes just as wide as her friend’s.

The actor chuckled and said “she’s Ava and he’s Daniel.” He began describing the function of wands and how they choose the owner. He gave a wand to Ava and one to Daniel. Nodding, the man turned to the girl. “Ava, I have a book on herbology on that shelf above your head. Can you please get that, and only that book, for me? Give the wand a flick.”

Looking at the wand in her hand and then the book on the shelf, Ava flicked it like instructed.

The entire stack of books, shelf and all, slid and began to fall. The man flicked his own wand and corrected the error. He frowned and plucked the wand from Ava’s fingers. “Obviously not.” He put the wand in it’s box then turned to Daniel. “Perhaps you can water the flower on that shelf above _your_ head?”

Gulping, Daniel looked up and waved the wand. The flower exploded in a stream of petals.

“No, no, no, no!” the actor called then fixed the damage. He sighed and took Daniel’s wand and put it in the box. “Obvious we have more . . .” tilting his head, the man looked between the two teens. Slowly, he reached into the boxes and pulled out both wands then swapped them, giving them esch to the other teen.

As soon as he removed his hands, a glow came up from the floor around them and their hair began to blow in an unexpected breeze in the closed room.

Kevin clapped. “Oh! Ava got a wand!”

TJ blinked in shock and then looked up at Steve, then at Kevin, then back at the two teens getting their wands. He turned his eyes to his twin and said, “you see that, Dougie?”

Nodding, Doug practically whispered, “they’re magic!”

“Yeah, maybe,” TJ nodded, looking back at Ava and Daniel.

“I wonder if _we’re_ magical?” Doug asked with wide eyes.

The actor would normally have just left at that point after instructing his assistant to aid with the purchase of the wands if the children wished it, but this one did something different. He walked over to the twins with a smile and said, “what month are you born, my dears?”

TJ blinked, as if he didn’t believe the man was talking to _him_. He looked behind them to see if there were a different set of kids behind them.

Steve nodded in encouragement to the eight year old. “Mr. Ollivander asked a question, TJ,” he smiled.

“Uh . . .” TJ looked back up at the man and said, “August?”

“August?” the actor sounded shocked. He shook his head, “why that is a most magical month indeed! Perhaps you should see my assistant? She is quite clever about finding wands for people born in _August_.”

“What’s so special ‘bout August?” TJ asked, looking at Doug and then back at the man.

With a friendly chuckle, then man said, “well, to start with, you’re twins, aren’t you? Now how can a month _not_ be special if twins are born then?” He patted TJ’s hair and walked behind his curtain, still chuckling.

Frowning in confusion, TJ looked back at Steve and asked, “so, August is special ‘cause Dougie and I were born? How does that make August magical?”

Steve said, “maybe you were born in August because it’s special, not the other way around? Ava was born in August and she’s magical.” He stroked TJ’s curls. “Did you want to see if the assistant thinks you’re magical enough for a wand?”

“Is she gonna explain why August is magical?” TJ asked.

“You can ask her if you’d like,” Steve nodded.

Nodding, TJ said, “okay, I wanna ask her. Doesn’t make sense to me. ‘Course, I ain’t as smart as Dougie.”

Doug laughed and took TJ’s hand. “Let’s go ask, ‘cause I don’t know, either.” He tugged his brother over towards the woman who was telling Bucky, Ava, Daniel, and Natasha about the wands. Steve laughed as TJ dragged him, and Kevin and Clint finally crowded around the shop keeper, effectively blocking other patrons from talking to her, but with possibly four wands at fifty or so dollars each to sell, the woman didn’t complain.

“What’s so magical ‘bout August?” TJ asked as soon as the woman had finished talking with the others. “I don’t get it.”

“Well, for two reasons. And they’re both in Greek mythology. First, Hercules the strongest hero of all was able to defeat an evil lion with his bare hands in August. Zeus put the lion in the sky, turning him into the constellation Leo. And second, the end of August has to do with Demeter, Goddess of the Earth, and her daughter Persephone, daughter of Springtime. They are the reason the seasons change, flowers and plants grow, and we eventually get winter and sledding and snow.” The clerk smiled at the twins happily, glad to show off some of her knowledge. “I’d say that’s pretty magical, right?”

“What’s a constellation?” TJ asked, showing his natural curiosity.

Chuckling, the woman said, “a picture made with stars. If you look up at the night sky, you can sometimes see pictures in the stars, like a dot-to-dot drawing. That’s a constellation.”

“You can see pictures in the sky? Honest?” TJ looked shocked and then excited, “I wanna see a picture made by stars!”

Steve laughed. “Well, maybe if you’re awake tonight we can look at the stars instead of fireworks?”

“Yeah!” TJ nodded happily, grabbing at Kevin’s tiny hand and asking the boy, “wanna look at the stars with me, Kevin?”

“Yeah, I’d like that, Teej.” Kevin grinned, looking at the floor to ceiling shelves of wand boxes, eyes wide.

Bucky moved so he stood right next to Steve, watching the children as they looked at wands. “This is pretty cool . . . brings the movies to life, huh?” He asked, glancing at his husband with a grin.

“And the books, too,” Steve nodded. “I love the way the different parks interact with the kids. Can’t wait for them to do Magic Kingdom in a couple days back in Disney. We only had that one appointment open on that one day so had to split the trip,” Steve didn’t seem to mind. He called out, “TJ, Doug, are you getting wands?”

TJ looked at Steve and then back at the wands, “uh . . . I don’t know?”

The woman looked the twins up and down and nodded, pulling down two boxes. She opened them both and handed the twins identical wands. “This one is made for smart magicians with curious minds. And it’s twin is for musical wizards.”

Eyes widening in surprise, TJ carefully took the wand he was offered and said, “I play piano. Momma and Nana say I’m good.”

Nodding, the clerk said, “the wand chooses the wizard, and it knows you play piano.”

TJ looked at Steve and then back at the woman, “how would a wand know that? It’s wood?”

“Ah, but this is willow with unicorn tail hair inside. It’s magical.” She smiled widely.

Steve chuckled, “I guess you can’t argue with magic, TJ, huh? I mean, me and Bucky never told her you play piano., so how could she have known?”

Thinking over that for a moment, TJ blinked and his eyes flickered to look back at the clerk again, “how _did_ you know?”

Laughing and shaking her head, she said, “I didn’t. The _wand_ chose you.”

TJ looked at the wand in his hand again, looking confused, though he didn’t ask any more questions.

Bucky laughed and said quietly to his husband, “he actually reminds me of _you_ when you were a kid, Steve. ‘Course he doesn’t want to punch anything that looks at him wrong.” Bucky’s tone was light and playful.

Chuckling, Steve said, “okay, anyone with me wanting their wand, I’ll take to the counter. Then we’ll look around at all the neat Hogwart’s clothing and school robes and stuff.” He led Doug, TJ, and Ava to the counter carrying their wands and boxes. Clint followed to pay for Daniel’s and his own, leaving Bucky, Kevin, and Nat behind with the Clerk.

Bucky looked at Kevin and asked, “want a wand, Tiger?” He ran his fingers through the blond’s hair. 

The boy looked tired and confused, obviously not quite with it, though he’d been attentive a moment before. It could either be a seizure coming on or just a side effect lapse instead of the full shaking and other detrimental effects. He leaned into Bucky. “Nah.”

Frowning softly in worry, Bucky knelt down to better look at his adoptive son, “how’re you feelin’?”

“Tired,” Kevin slurred, eyes drooping.

“You wanna go back to the room and get some rest?” Bucky offered.

Shaking his head a bit, Kevin held up his arms, silently.

Bucky easily scooped up the tiny boy in his arms and carried him. He made his way over to where the others were paying for their wands. Kevin’s head lay on Bucky’s shoulder and he closed his eyes, sighing.

Steve looked over, the laughter at Clint’s words dying. He suddenly looked worried. “Buck? He okay?”

“He says he’s tired,” Bucky answered.

Steve reached out and stroked Kevin’s hair from his eyes. “You okay, Kev?”

Kevin opened his eyes and nodded against Bucky’s shoulder. “Wanna get school robes, please?” his voice still slurred a little but he sounded more tired than in danger of a seizure.

Steve glanced to Bucky.

Bucky let out a sigh, looking at Steve, “what do you want to do, Steve?”

“Why don’t we get his robes and stuff. I can carry him if you want? TJ? Want to be tethered to Cousin bucky?” Steve looked down at the curly haired brunet.

Looking up at Steve, TJ nodded, “okay.”

“Thanks, TJ,” Steve transferred the leash to Bucky’s arm then took his son into his arms. He cuddle the tired child and kissed his head. “Okay, Bucky, my wallet’s in my back pocket. You get to pay for everything.” He smiled, eyes worried. “Everyone choose robes and the stuff that goes with it. Wanna see my wizards and witches decked out fully to go with their wands.”

Bucky took the wallet from Steve’s back pocket, slipping it into his own before following Steve out with the others.

Clint took charge of making sure everyone would get the robes, ties, scarves, socks, and everything to go with it. He said, “I’ll make sure you’re sorted.” He picked up a pin from the rack on the wall, one that had a spinner that would point to the different Houses. He turned to TJ. “Okay, kiddo, spin this sorting pin and find out your House!”

TJ reached out and spun the pin, waiting for it to land on something. “Hufflepuff? What’s that mean?”

Clint crowed, delighted, “awesome! Hufflepuff House are the hard workers, faithful, and loyal. Cool! And, you get yellow stuff.”

“Oh, okay,” TJ nodded, moving out of the way so the others could spin the pin if they wanted.

Kevin reached out a tired, shaky hand and spun the spinner, almost a lackluster spin. It landed on Gryffindor, and he smiled slightly. “Gryffindor, the brave. I wear red, Uncle Clint.”

Nodding, Clint worked with the others until finally all the kids had a color to choose. He winked at Bucky and said, “so, wanna try to get sorted, Buck?”

Laughing, Bucky nodded and spun, watching until the spinner landed on Gryffindor.

Clint grinned. “Gryffindor, like Kevin. Okay, Natasha?”

Natasha stepped up and spun, “oh? Slytherin.”

Clint laughed, “figures. At least you look sexy in green.”

When Clint, the last to spin, got his results, he was Ravenclaw like Doug. Steve had gotten Gryffindor and Daniel got Hufflepuff. The rest of their shopping was completed and everything, including the wands and robes, sent to the front of the park for pickup. When the group left the shops, Steve put Kevin in his stroller with a kiss. Kevin curled up and fell asleep instantly.

Turning to the others, Steve smiled. “Not a problem. Neither Kevin or I can go on most of those rides. We’ll sit it out while you guys have fun. Come meet us at the central plaza when you’re done? Or . . . should we all tour the castle right now and I can sit in baby swap with Kevin while you guys ride the ride?”

Bucky shrugged and looked to the others, “what do you guys think?”

Doug softly said, “I don’t mind, since they can’t ride anyway? Then we can all do the caste part together? And when we finish the castle, maybe Cousin Steve and Kevin can sit in the middle area while we go on the Flying Griffon roller coaster?” He named the kids’ coaster in that area.

“That could work?” Bucky looked to Steve.

Nodding, Steve smiled. “Great, let’s head for Hogwart’s Castle. I always wanted to see inside.” The tall blond turned and led his group into the long waiting line for one of the most popular rides.

At least by the time early afternoon hit, Kevin was feeling much better. His energy had returned and he sat up in the stroller and chatted like normal. He was looking forward to the Seuss Landing section, where he could actually go on the rides and so could Steve.

After a light snack of ice cream, roasted nuts, or whatever else struck the fancy of the group, bought from the street vendors, the party arrived in the designated area and Kevin pointed to the Cat in the Hat ride. “Is that one okay, Papa?”

After looking at the sign that described the warnings, Bucky offered Kevin a smile, “that one’s great, Tiger.”

“Can I share a seat with Doug and TJ, Papa?” Kevin looked up at the adults.

“I don’t see why not. Steve?” Bucky looked to his husband.

“Oh! I get to cuddle with my husband?” Steve grinned.

Laughing, Bucky nodded and then said, “c’mon, then. Let’s go on the ride, yeah?”

The group enjoyed the kiddie rides, even Daniel who forgot how old fourteen always seemed. They ended with snacks and hamburgers at the locale _‘If I Ran the Zoo’_ restaurant. Not much later, the group made their way up front, did a bit of shopping in the huge store picking up on superhero stuff as well as some of the stuff for the rides they liked but skipped the shops during their park journey. Clint retrieved all the packages, with Nat’s and Daniel’s help, and the group caught their shuttle back to the Disney resort.

Walking in the door, Steve stretched and said, “okay, it’s dark enough for stars for a bit if you still want to, TJ? Doug? Kevin?”

“Yeah!” TJ nodded, still looking excited, “I wanna look at the stars!”

Laughing in exhaustion, Steve took the three younger boys outside to show them the _pictures in stars_.

**************

Someone bouncing onto the side of Bucky’s and Steve’s bed forced the pair of adults to wake up. Kevin grinned, excitement running through his small frame. “Heya, My Bucky!”

Steve groaned on a laugh, “ _Now_ he begins to act like a normal kid?”

Bucky buried his face in the soft pillow and let out a groan that matched Steve’s, “guess he ain’t tired anymore . . .” the brunet pushed up, long hair disheveled, and let out a yawn, “mornin’, Tiger.”

Kevin grinned widely. “Everyone else is already up. We let you sleep, Papa.” Kevin snuggled his face into Bucky’s neck. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” Bucky replied and kissed Kevin’s head, “alright, you gotta let me up so I can get ready, yeah?”

“Papa?” Kevin’s voice dropped to a nervous sound.

“Yeah? What’s wrong?” Bucky asked, looking at his son with a worried frown.

“I know I was really tired and sick yesterday, Papa, Dad,” he looked to his worried father then back to his adoptive father. “But, can maybe I get a wand today? Please? I really want one?”

Blinking, relief coursing through him at the simple request, Bucky said, “I think we can manage that,” he looked at Steve, “right?”

“Sure, we’ll take the Hogwart’s Express over to get the wand then back to the other side so we can do the rides, right? And I’m sure we’ll find things we can do while the others ride the bigger ones.” Steve felt relieved it was just a wand Kevin wanted and that the boy wasn’t sick or hurt.

Kevin hugged Bucky then scrambled over him to hug Steve. He climbed from the bed and ran to the others in the main room, calling to the twins, “TJ! Dougie! They said I can get a wand! And we’re gonna take that big red train!”

TJ looked over, completely dressed and ready for the day, and beamed at the smaller boy, “cool! I like trains!”

Doug nodded his agreement, spooning up more of the eggs Clint had made everyone. “That’s great!”

Kevin sidled up to Ava and leaned against her, grinning. “I’m gonna be magical, too, My Ava!”

“Cool, Kevin,” Ava grinned, giving Kevin a caring, one-armed hug.

Steve yawned as he walked out of the bedroom, dressed but ruffled. “Eggs? Yum!” He gave Clint and Natasha a thankful grin and headed over to the stove to help himself.

Bucky got his own food and settled down with a cup of coffee after he’d taken a quick shower and gotten dressed. “Thanks, guys,” Bucky said to Clint and Natasha.

Breakfast finished rather quickly and the group left back to Universal Studios. Once there, they headed directly for the Harry Potter area, boarded the Escape from Gringotts ride, which Kevin wasn’t permitted on but didn’t seem to mind as Steve sat with him in the baby swap area talking about wands. Once that was over, they found that there was an Ollivander’s in that section, too, but Steve insisted they take the train to Hogsmeade section anyway, which delighted Kevin . . . it was one of the few rides he could do.

The train was attacked and rescued in good order, as was almost predictable since it was an actual ride, and the group exited in the other park, Kevin breathless and babbling, eyes wide and shining. “Papa! They really are out there! Those dementors!” After Kevin got his wand, delighted to be the only kid actually in the room that hadn’t had one so _he_ had been chosen by Ollivander to try wands, the group spent the day back on the other side going on rides and enjoying the mild day. Kevin wasn’t sick once, enjoying running around with the others somewhat.

But the true epoch of the trip was the day the group went to the Magic Kingdom in Disney. They arrived early and went straight to their very early appointment at the Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boutique. Several fairy godmother’s in training came forward, one for each child. The head fairy in training looked at the adults. “So, which princess would your girl like to be? The boys can choose from different weapons and glitter . . .”

Kevin apparently didn’t catch everything the woman said because the little boy said, “I wanna be Aurora!”

The woman blinked, smiling, and said, “that involves a dress, honey . . .”

“He likes the pretty colors princesses get to wear,” TJ piped up.

Steve gestured towards the book of appointments. “We have Ava and Kevin listed for full makeovers with dresses and hair. Daniel, TJ, and Doug want to be knights and princes. I was told that’d be fine?”

Hesitating the woman finally nodded, smiling. “Well, of course that’s fine. Ammabelle will take Princess Kevin and Tamara will work with Princess Ava.”

Kevin clapped his hands in delight and climbed out of his stroller. “Thanks!”

TJ looked up at Steve and asked, “why didn’t she want Kevin to wear the colors he likes?”

“It’s not that, TJ,” Steve smiled and helped the boy climb into the chair for his own beauty treatment. “Most parents think boys are offered full costume, too, and she may have thought we wanted a boy costume for Kevin. But I specifically asked when making the appointment if my son could have a dress, since that’s what he wants, and she said it was up to us.”

“Okay,” TJ nodded.

“Sometimes people are a bit confused when a boy wants dresses or even when a girl wants coveralls and boots. We aren’t like that in our house. We want what makes our kids happy. So, TJ, if you ever want a pink dress, for example, we’ll be happy to get it for you. We’ll even keep it for you if your parents don’t like it.”

TJ scrunched up his nose and shook his head, “no, I mean . . . pink’s a pretty color and all, but I don’t think I’d like wearing a dress.”

Chuckling, Steve nodded, “it was just an example, honey.”

Ava sat in her chair next to Kevin, looking very excited for her makeover.

Kevin chattered a mile a minute to Ava, his stylist, anyone who would listen. Daniel looked amused but let his own stylist tend to arranging his hair with glitter and helping him pick out a sword and shield so he could be a real knight of the realm. Doug also got glitter and a bow and arrows; he didn’t like swords.

TJ didn’t seem entirely comfortable as the stylist began trying to work on his hair, though he never verbally objected.

Steve noticed how uncomfortable TJ seemed and stopped the fairy godmother in training. “Teej? What’s wrong, honey?” he asked, squatting in front of the boy in the chair.

“You said I wouldn’t hafta get all dressed up unless it was for pictures on Christmas,” TJ said, sitting on his hands to hide the nervous tapping.

Steve actually laughed, “TJ, I promise, once you’re done getting glittered and outfitted with sashes and weapons, we can send your stuff to the front and you can wash out your hair if you wish, okay? You don’t have to stay nice and neat today. Is that fair?”

“But, why am I puttin’ stuff on just to wash it off?” TJ asked, tilting his head.

“Well, sometimes we like getting dressed up a bit fancy but don’t wanna stay that way for more than a few minutes and a glance in the mirror. Will you let us take a picture of you as a prince and then you can do what you want, okay? It’s so that you get one nice picture of being a prince . . . something you might not get again until you grow up and marry royalty.”

“Okay . . .” TJ nodded slowly, scrunching his nose and then letting the expression fade away. The boy still sat on his hands, his legs kicking slightly in the air.

Fortunately, the stylist never once told him to be still while she worked. Instead, she asked about what he liked to do for fun.

TJ talked with the stylist, looking like he was just anxious for the process to be over.

In the end, it wasn’t painful or extremely long a process, proving that all the times his mother had tried to tame his hair and dress him up had been a bit over the top. The fairy turned TJ to look in the mirror, standing next to Doug, and smiled. “What do you think, your highness?”

Looking in the mirror, TJ nodded and gave the woman a smile, “it’s cool. Thanks!”

Steve grinned. He looked over at the five children as each joined each other in front of the mirror. “Pictures? Please?” he asked.

Ava, styled after _Rapunzel_ , turned and smiled at Steve as the other children got ready for the picture. Steve carefully kissed her and said, “how’s it feel, Princess?”

“It’s great,” Ava beamed, leaning into the hug, “thanks, Steve!”

“It was your Uncle’s idea, princess,” he chuckled softly.

After receiving just as happy of thanks from Ava, Bucky smiled and kissed the top of her head, being careful of the styled locks. “You look beautiful, Squirt,” Bucky grinned.

They got the pictures and Steve laughed. “Okay, those who want to go back to regular, feel free to hit the bathroom. I want sashes, weapons, and dresses if they’re being removed. We’ll send them to the resort room so we don’t destroy or lose them. Ava, need help so you won’t mess up your hair?”

When the girl nodded, Natasha went with her to the restroom so she could help the girl change. TJ also took that opportunity remove his sash and hand the fake weapons to Steve.

Steve smiled. "Gonna leave the glitter for a bit, honey?" he asked.

“I am,” Daniel said. “It doesn’t hurt and looks pretty cool. And if I get wet or something, I know you guys won’t get peeved.”

“I guess? You promise you won’t get mad if my hair gets messed up?” TJ asked, looking up at Steve.

“It’s _your_ hair, TJ. If I was going to get mad, would I tell you that you can wash it out right now? If you want, feel free to keep it and don’t worry if you get splashed or wilted or ice cream in it or something. Heck, if you really like it, I’m sure we can find an internet thing to show you how to glitter your hair without pain.” Steve hugged TJ, not at all being careful to avoid the boy’s hair but not deliberately messing it up.

“Okay,” TJ nodded, seeming to accept Steve’s words.

Kevin opted to keep the dress on since he couldn’t do most of the rides anyway. Steve seemed to have no problem with that, either. The small boy actually was pretty enough to pass for a girl with short hair and several parents made comments in passing as to how cute _she_ was. Kevin ignored them, pleased to be so pretty.

Bucky, like Steve, didn’t mind in the slightest that Kevin chose to stay in the dress. He supported the boy in most everything, including Kevin’s desires to dress in more feminine clothing.

Since none of the party seemed inclined to dissuade the seven year old from dressing as a princess, the group moved in harmony towards the rides and gift shops and food. Kevin loved the Haunted House ride as well as Pirates of the Caribbean. He was sad he couldn’t do the Mad Tea Party ride until Steve told him that they could do Prince Charming’s Carousel instead. The adult turned to the others, “anyone not wanna get incredibly dizzy in the teacups?”

“I don’t,” TJ answered.

“Yeah, me neither,” Bucky agreed.

“I do!” Daniel laughed. Clint nodded his enthusiasm for getting dizzy.

“I’ll stick with them,” Natasha said, gesturing to her own family.

“I’ll do the teacups,” Ava agreed.

Steve nodded, “meet us in front of the carousel when you’re done.” He guided his group, including Doug, over to the large circle of horses and carriages. Once there, Steve laughed and helped Kevin onto the ride.

“Dad, can I learn side saddle? That’s how people in dresses ride horses!”

“Don’t see why not,” Steve looked to Bucky. “Wanna help Kevin with that while I monitor our twins?”

“Okay,” Bucky nodded, moving forward to help Kevin get situated, letting the boy sit side-saddle.

Kevin threw his arms around Bucky when the ride ended, “I love you so much Papa! You’re the bestest thing to happen to us.”

Bucky laughed and helped ease Kevin off the fake horse, “I love you, too, Tiger. And you’re definitely one of the best things to happen to _me_ , Kevin.”

Looking up at Bucky as the bruet settled the little blond back in his stroller, Kevin said, “after vacation will we still get to see TJ and Dougie? I love them!”

“I can talk with Cousin Elaine and see if they’ll be able to visit sometimes,” Bucky offered, not knowing how plausible it’d be with the boys moving into the White House.

“I think they like coming over because we don’t put cameras in their faces and ask stupid questions all the time.” Kevin nodded, smoothing his pink skirt.

“Yeah, I think you may be right,” Bucky agreed with the little boy, “I’ll see what I can do, okay, Tiger?”

“Thanks, Papa.” Kevin grinned up at him. He glanced towards the crowd and said, “uh oh . . . Daniel looks sick.”

Clint supported his son as the group made their way towards the others. Daniel did indeed look sick, eyes closed, face red and splotchy, and hands shaking. He paused and gulped air and sipped some water Clint offered from a bottle. When they arrived, Clint said, “Daniel got too dizzy and threw up.”

Groaning, Daniel said, “waited until the ride stopped and had a trash can . . . “

Bucky winced in sympathy, “I’m sorry, Daniel. You’ll feel better soon.”

Because people tended to get highly emotional when they weren’t feeling well, Daniel started crying. “Had to wash up and my glitter’s gone.” His hair did look more wet then gelled.

TJ tilted his head and then ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up entirely but collecting some of the glitter that decorated his hair. He walked over to the teen and carefully, recognizing that Daniel wasn’t feeling good, smoothed his long fingers through Daniel’s hair, transferring the small amount of glitter. “There! You can have mine,” TJ grinned at the other boy, his own hair sticking up wildly.

Daniel sniffled and hugged TJ tight. "You're the nicest boy ever!” he sobbed.

Steve also hugged TJ, “that’s very nice, TJ. Hey, why don’t we go to a store and get some more fairy dust? Then TJ can do Daniel’s hair while we all rest?”

“Yeah!” TJ agreed with a bright smile, “then Daniel can get all the glitter that fell out. I don’t think I got all mine out.”

Steve suddenly said, “Hey, everyone, let’s get a picture of TJ. He looks adorable like that.” He grinned at TJ, knowing full well the boy had messed up his own hair, proving Steve didn’t care if TJ looked wild in the pictures.

For once, TJ didn’t argue the picture; he grinned at Steve as the man took a photo.

When done, Steve led the group at a slow pace, in deference to Daniel, into the large Disney store. Doug’s eyes widened and he hugged TJ. “Look at all the stuff!”

Clint grinned widely. “Okay, buddy system!”

Looking between Bucky and Steve, TJ asked, “who’s our buddy today?”

Steve held up the lead. “Pick someone, TJ,” he offered.

TJ looked between Bucky and Steve again before saying, “uh . . . Steve?”

Steve nodded and attached the lead between him and TJ. “Doug? Any preference?”

Doug nodded. “Can I be with Natasha?”

“Sure,” Natasha laughed, offering her hand to Doug; the store was very big and the little ones could very easily get distracted or separated.

Clint grinned. “Ava, wanna go with Nat or me and Daniel? If you gotta use the lady’s room, we can get a staff member or something?”

Nodding, Ava stepped closer to her best friend and Clint, “I’ll go with you guys.”

“Cool, hair glitter is a priority, but feel free to shop.” Clint grinned at Bucky and winked.

“Then I get Papa!” Kevin said excitedly.

“Yup,” Bucky grinned, “anything you wanna look at, Kevin?”

“Yup. Hair bands. I wanna learn to do your hair, Papa. It’s pretty.”

Laughing, Bucky nodded, “Ava knows how to braid really well, maybe she can teach you?”

“Yeah, maybe she will,” Kevin nodded. He grinned up at his father. “Hey, Papa, can we look at the games?”

“Sure,” Bucky agreed, leading the blond boy towards the games offered for sale in the store.

**************

Sighing in relief as he brought the last suitcase in, grinning at the children gathered out of the way in the living room, Steve sighed. “Home.”

“Thank God,” Bucky laughed softly, looking exhausted but happy. The vacation had been a blast but Bucky was very excited to be home.

TJ sat on the couch back at the Rogers’ house, his fingers tapping nervously at his thighs as he kept looking at the door, even after Bucky and Steve had finished bringing in the last of the luggage.

“What’s wrong?” Kevin asked, swinging his legs, playing with the ears on TJ’s large stuffed wolf.

Looking back at Kevin, TJ chewed his bottom lip and said, “Momma and Daddy are comin’ to pick us up. Then we gotta move into a big white house.”

Nodding, Kevin said, “yeah. Gonna miss you. But I asked Papa to ask your Momma to let you come play with us again.”

“We live far away from here,” TJ frowned softly, looking back at the door again.

“Nah uh,” Kevin countered. “Papa said it’s only four hours. You don’t need a plane for four hours, Teej.” He smiled and hugged his adoptive cousin.

“I . . . I don’t wanna move into the white house. Momma says we gotta behave while Daddy does his new job,” TJ sighed softly, leaning into the hug.

“Well you did a great job behaving while with us. I don’t think it’ll be a problem, TJ.” Kevin grinned widely.

Bucky sighed, watching Kevin hugging the anxious looking TJ; he leaned in closer to Steve and whispered, “part of me wants to keep both those boys here . . .”

Nodding, Steve sighed. “A big part of me, too, wants to keep them, Bucky. But we can arrange to take them for any vacation or holiday the Hammonds want to give them up. Instead of rotating among people, they can come here?” He hugged his husband.

“It’s just a lot for them to be forced to go through,” Bucky leaned his head on Steve’s shoulder, “ _they_ didn’t choose to get involved with politics.”

“Well, most other political parents don’t seem so wrapped up in the work they forget their kids or pawn them off on various people at the few times a family should be together.” Steve shook his head and glanced towards the door, hearing a car stop outside. “Damn, vacation’s just ended.”

TJ’s head snapped towards the door again, and the boy suddenly jumped off the couch and ran to the nearest bathroom, shutting the door.

Steve sighed. He looked at Bucky. “Should I talk to TJ? While you face the President and First Lady?”

Nodding, Bucky headed towards the front door, “yeah, I’ll stall ‘em for a bit while you talk with Teej.”

Steve nodded, stroking Doug’s hair in passing. He knocked on the bathroom door. “TJ, baby? Can I come in? It’s Steve.”

“Just Steve,” came TJ’s reply, muffled through the wooden door.

“Yup,” Steve confirmed. “Just Steve and Luna,” he accepted the wolf toy Kevin thrust at him.

“Okay . . . you can come in,” TJ called back. When Steve opened the door, the thin eight year old looked over, body squeezed between the toilet and the tub, his eyes wide.

“Wow! You got stuck, huh?” Steve asked softly. He walked over and sat on the toilet, offering Luna to her owner. “Hurt?”

“No, I ain’t stuck,” TJ said, reaching out to take his beloved stuffed wolf and hold it close.

“Look kinda stuck wedged in there. Mind telling me why you’re playing dust bunny?” Steve smiled gently, offering his arms in a hug.

“Don’t wanna go back,” TJ said softly.

Nodding, Steve carefully picked up TJ from where he’d hidden and put the boy on his lap. He hugged TJ close. “Do your parents or servants hurt you, TJ?”

TJ shook his head frantically, curling up tight in Steve’s arms. “No, my parents and the helpers don’t hurt me . . .”

“Someone does, right?” Steve asked gently, still holding the boy. “Someone your parents let take you for vacation sometimes?”

“I’m not supposed to talk ‘bout it,” TJ murmured softly, hugging Luna tightly.

“Did your parents say not to talk about it?” Steve prompted.

“No,” TJ answered, tone shaking, “they don’t know. It’s a secret.”

“If the secret hurts you, it’s a bad kind of secret, TJ. Those are the kind you’re supposed to tell someone you trust, like your parents, so they can stop the hurting.” Steve stroked TJ curls. “Wanna tell me?”

“No, they’ll get mad,” TJ whimpered softly, “and he made me promise not to tell. He said good boys don’t tell secrets.”

“Well he didn’t tell you the other part. Good men don’t hurt little boys, either. So, sounds like he’s a bad man who doesn’t want you telling so he can keep hurting you. You see, if someone hurts you, TJ, you should tell so the person hurting you gets punished.” Steve stroked TJ’s curls again. “And I won’t be mad if you tell me. Not mad at you.”

TJ looked up at Steve and opened his mouth to say something but a knock at the door snapped his jaw shut with an audible click. “Teej?” Bud Hammond’s voice came through the closed door, “time to go, kiddo. We got everything all packed up in the car.”

“Tell me who’s hurting you, baby,” Steve coaxed, ignoring the President outside the unlocked door.

Eyes widening, TJ shook his head, “I _can’t_.” The boy’s eyes filled with tears but they didn’t spill over.

“It’s okay, Teej. Your Momma agreed with Bucky to let you and Dougie come down for summers,” Bud continued to try and coax his son out of the bathroom, unaware of the conversation going on inside. “You’ll see everyone again.”

Steve whispered in TJ’s ear, “is the bad man someone who sees you all the time or just on vacations, TJ?”

“He . . . he comes over for dinners sometimes,” TJ whimpered, just as softly.

“And how does he manage to get you away from your family and staff, baby?” Steve asked.

The door finally opened and Bud Hammond stepped inside, frowning softly at the sight of a clearly shaken TJ in Steve’s lap. “You okay, Teej?” The large man could see that his son had been crying and Steve was clearly trying to comfort him.

Sniffling, TJ wiped at his eyes and quickly slipped off Steve’s lap, holding Luna closely to his chest.

“Don’t go anywhere, guys, I want some advice from Cousin Bud.” Steve asked, standing.

Eyebrows raising in surprise, Bud wrapped a comforting arm around TJ’s shoulders and pulled his son closer to him. “How can I help, Steve, wasn’t it?” Just the fact that Bud hadn’t been completely sure of the name of one of the men he left his son in the care of spoke wonders. It was probably very easy for whoever was hurting TJ to get him alone.

Steve nodded, “well, you’ve seen my son, Kevin, and how pretty he is? I was wondering, Bud, what I can tell him so he knows that he shouldn’t keep secrets from me. You know the kind, someone, maybe a friend of the family, hurting him and telling him he’d be bad if he told the secret? I’m worried he might think I’d get mad at him.”

“Well,” Bud looked thoughtful for a few moments, “jus’ gotta assure your boy that it’s very important to tell the truth. That you can’t help him if he doesn’t tell you who’s hurting him.”

“Even if it’s maybe a close family friend or even a relative doing the hurting? How can I tell my son, let him know how much I love him . . . and he’s more important to me than any family friend? What do you tell your sons?” Steve asked, watching TJ very carefully.

Bud squeezed TJ’s shoulders in a caring manner, “our boys know both Elaine and I love them very much and want them safe. They know we can’t help them if they don’t tell us what’s wrong. Right, Teej?” Bud looked down at his son.

TJ whimpered and closed his eyes, holding Luna close with one arm; the fingers of his other hand tapped anxiously against one thigh.

Looking puzzled, Bud lifted his eyes to meet Steve’s. “What happened? Did he get hurt on the trip?”

“No, he was an angel. We even figured out a way to help him not wander off accidentally.” Steve knelt down and wrapped the boy in a supportive hug. “TJ, do you think if a grown up knows another grown up is hurting a little kid, the first grown up should tell?”

Steve could feel the boy’s thin body shaking in his arms and TJ let out a whimper mixed with a sob.

Steve stood, picking up the child in his strong arms and holding him tight. “Okay, that’s it. TJ, I’m gonna prove that some secrets are better to tell than keep. Hope you’ll forgive me someday.” He looked at Bud. “I’m not sure who or exactly how, but TJ’s being abused by one of your regular dinner guests. It’s why he doesn’t want to go home.”

Bud looked completely stunned and simply stared at Steve and then TJ for several moments. “What? When?”

TJ let out another sob and clutched at Steve tightly.

“He said the man told him that good boys keep secrets, so he couldn’t tell,” Steve continued to cuddle TJ.

“Elaine needs to hear this, too,” Bud said, looking torn between furious and terrified.

“Bud,” Steve’s tone was sharp. “You can explain to your wife soon. But right now, TJ needs his father’s undivided attention, support, and love. I know you care about him, but be a man and _show_ him you care.” Softening his voice, Steve explained, “Kevin was sold as an infant into the sex trade. We saved him at the age of five. I was a sex slave for almost six years and we finally got the bastard locked away in prison. TJ does not need this trauma. He needs _you_.”

“Wait,” Bud paled a few shades, “you think he’s being . . .” the man looked at the trembling, sobbing TJ in Steve’s arms.

Nodding, Steve said firmly, “he’s got all the symptoms, Bud. Trust me, I know them.”

Bud carefully took TJ from Steve’s arms, easily able to hold the thin eight year old. TJ buried his face in his father’s neck and continued to sob, his breath hitching as he wasn’t able to take full breaths. Bud moved to sit on the closed toilet, keeping TJ with him as he tried to sooth his upset son. TJ’s sobs could clearly be heard through the open bathroom door into the living room where the others were.

In a very gentle tone, Steve said, “now Bucky and I are more than happy to take the twins whenever and however long you want. I know the political whirl is probably not what you want for them. But I can’t take them during your normal routine, dinner parties and such, because then I’d be the dad and not you. And I know your boys are precious to you.” Steve put a hand on TJ’s curls. “I thought you needed to know.”

Nodding, Bud rubbed his hand down TJ back, trying to get his boy to calm down before asking or doing anything.

“I - - I’m . . . s - - sorry!” TJ wailed, not lifting his face from Bud’s neck. “I - - I didn’t . . . want it! I - - it . . . hurt!”

Bud looked at Steve, misery in his eyes; it was obvious the man had no idea what to do.

“Let me give you Riley’s number, Bud. He can get you in touch with the people you need to help TJ and possibly even Doug. He can also help you find a way to get TJ to give up the rest of the bad secret. But for now, I’m going to walk out and let Elaine in. Did you want me to talk to Doug?”

“No, Elaine and I can talk with Doug,” Bud said, carding his fingers through TJ’s hair. Luckily, the boy’s breathing was getting a little better, though he still cried.

Suddenly Steve squatted down and out a hand on TJ’s back. “Baby? Did the man get really happy whenever you were dressed up nice?” He had a suspicion that TJ might have his aversion to looking nice partly due to the abuse.

“Yeah,” TJ managed to say between sobs, “he . . . h - - he said . . . I looked . . . p - - pretty. H - - He . . . liked to take . . . pictures . . .”

Steve looked at Bud to see if the man recognized the description of one of his dinner guests, a man who liked to take pictures of TJ looking nice.

“Fred Collier?” Bud asked after a few moments, breathless and in shock.

The name made TJ cry harder, the shaking of his thin frame now very clear. “He . . . h - - he made me . . . take off my clothes! I . . . I didn’t l - - like it!”

Steve nodded and slowly stood. “I’ll get Elaine. Bucky and I will sit with Doug while you help TJ, Bud.” He stroked TJ’s back and said, “we still love you, TJ. You’re a very good boy.” Steve turned and walked out, sending in the very worried Elaine with the soft words, “TJ’s revealed a secret of someone hurting him. They need you.” She blinked and rushed into the bathroom.

Bucky, who’d been in the living room wih the others, heard the cries but hadn’t been able to distinguish any words. Keeping his voice low, looking very worried, Bucky asked his husband, “what the hell happened? I figured he might not want to go home . . . but, not _this_ bad.”

Steve leaned in and whispered in Bucky’s ear, “one of the frequent guests at their home has been sexually assaulting TJ.” He straightened and walked over to sit by Doug, who looked confused and worried.

Bucky blinked in shock and it took him a few moments to be able to shake himself and make it over to where Steve and Doug were.

Steve smiled at Doug, respecting Bud’s wishes not to question the boy about any possible abuse. Instead, he said, “I think your parents will let you come back here for vacations, Doug. Won’t that be great?”

Doug nodded, still worried, and asked, “Is TJ throwing up because he doesn’t wanna go to that big white house?”

Steve stroked the hair from Doug’s eyes. “Nope. But he’s worried about going home to that big house, so your parents are talking to him. Are you all packed?”

Doug nodded and looked towards Bucky.

Looking at Doug and then Steve and then back at Doug, Bucky offered the boy a smile, though his pale eyes were worried, “it’ll be alright, Dougie. Elaine agreed that you and TJ will be able to come here for summer break. Anything you want to see here in New York?” He wanted to keep the boy occupied until Bud and Elaine managed to calm TJ down.

“Everything,” he said. Smiling slightly, Doug looked between the adults then back at the very worried and silent Kevin, who lay on his front watching the bathroom door as if he could see and hear right through it. “And so will TJ. He likes people.”

“Yeah, he’s a real friendly boy,” Bucky nodded in agreement. He looked at Kevin and frowned softly, “Tiger? Everything alright?”

“TJ belongs with us,” was all the boy said, “he’s family.”

“But, his Momma, Daddy, and Dougie are his family, too, Tiger. They’re all gonna live in DC,” Bucky said, wondering if Kevin really could have made out what TJ had been wailing about.

Nodding, Kevin sighed, “I like them, too. They’re our family, too. Me and TJ are alike. I can help him.”

Bucky looked at Steve, pale eyes extremely worried.

Steve nodded and softly said, “well, that’s what families do, Kev. We love and help each other.” He placed his hand on his son’s head and simply waited for Bucky’s cousins to sort things out.


End file.
